CIEG-306 Fluid Mechanics Laboratory

1. Hydrostatic Pressure and Force on Submerged Surfaces

Objective
To determine the force that the water acts on the submerged part of the torroid and to
compare with the theory of hydrostatics.
Apparatus
The torroid device is sketched in Figure 1. The torroid is suspended at a point O and can be
rotated around point O. A scale (to the left in the figure) can be loaded to balance the forces
acting on the torroid.
Theory
Reference is made to the chapter in the CIEG305 textbook on Fluid Statics. We consider a
submerged surface in a stationary fluid. When a fluid is stationary, it has only normal stress,
which is called pressure, but it has no shear stress. Hence, any submerged surface in a
stationary fluid would experience hydrostatic force. Another characteristic of stationary fluid is
that its free surface is always perpendicular to the direction of gravitational acceleration. What
we need to determine here are the magnitude and location of the hydrostatic forces acting on
the submerged surface of the torroid (see figure 1). The hydrostatic pressure p below the
horizontal free surface is given by
p = y + patm

(1)

where is the specific weight of the fluid, y is the vertical distance below the free surface, and
patm is the atmospheric pressure which can be taken to be zero. (Explain why this does not
change your results). The fluid pressure acts normal to the surface of an object and is positive in
the direction into the surface. Integration of the pressure over a submerged surface yields the
total hydrostatic pressure force acting on that surface. Similarly the resultant moment about a
suitable specified point can be obtained by integrating the moments from the pressure over the
body surface. Through total moment of momentum balance, the rotating part of the equipment
is balanced with the load W on the scale. During the lecture, we will go through the general
derivation of finding the force and location of force for a submerged plate and how the
problem shown in figure 1 can be solved efficiently. The derivations related to these steps are
required in your report.
Procedure
First, with the tank empty, adjust the balance arm until it is horizontal as indicated by the level
located on top of the arm. Allow the tap water to run for several minutes before using it to
safeguard against fluctuations in the temperature. Fill the tank with water until the water
surface is level with the torroid bottom. Record this depth. Then, the group should repeat the
1

following procedure with 10 combinations of added weight W, in order to get 10

measurements.
1. Place weights on the scale pan.
2. Allow water to flow into or out of the tank until the balance arm is again level.
3. Record this depth of water and the weight required to restore equilibrium.
Also record the water temperature to determine the specific weight (each member of the
group takes at least one reading before the experiment and one after to establish a sample).

Data Reduction and Report

Derive the equations (outlined above) needed for your data analysis.
Is there hydrostatic pressure force acting on the circular surface of the torroid? How
does it contribute to the moment acting on the arm?
Using the measured data (i.e., the water depth), calculate the force and the position Ycp
of the pressure center on the vertical plane, and the resultant moment Mf about the
pivot point O.
Explain why this moment should balance the moment resulting from the weight on the
scale pan, Mw.
Plot Mf versus Mw.
Perform a linear regression analysis between Mf and Mw. How do the results compare to
what would be theoretically expected?
Finally, compute a correlation coefficient r for the plot (Mf , Mw). (See the handout
Simple statistical measures for data analysis). What does r tell you about your
measurements?
2