Introduction

This experiment is to determine the metacentric height and also to identify the stability of a floating
body. The floating body might be stable or unstable where; when the floating body is stable, it tends
to return to its original equilibrium position after being tilted while for the unstable body, it tends to
stay at its new equilibrium position after being tilted. To be clearer, metacentric height is known as
the quantification of the initial static stability of a floating body. The metacentric height apparatus is
designed to study the stability of floating body. The apparatus consists of a pontoon which is the flat
rectangular vessel in cross section and plan, and adjustable horizontal weight and vertical sliding
mass. The metacentre of a stable floating body is above the centre of gravity whereas, the unstable
floating’s metacentre is below the centre of gravity. The more the metacentric height of a floating
body, the more its stability will be.

Objective

 To identify the position of metacentre (M) of a floating body, by referring the distance from
the centre of gravity (G).
 To identify the key parameters of the pontoon and to investigate the stability of the pontoon.
Procedure

1. Firstly, weight:-
I. The assembled pontoon
II. The horizontal traversed weight
2. Measure the pontoon dimensions.
3. Position the sliding mass along the mast such that the centre of gravity occurs at the top of the
pontoon. This can be determined by using knife edge or by suspending from the light string
around the mast.
4. Fill the sink with water; float the pontoon ensuring that the adjustable mass is in its central
position.
5. Use the PVC plates provided to level the floating body and check zero datum between plum
line and scale.
6. Move adjustable mass to the right of the centre in 5mm increments to the end of the scale,
noting the angular displacement of the plumb line for each position.
7. Repeat for movement of the adjustable mass to the left of centre.
8. With the exception of weighing the adjustable weight and emptying and refilling the
volumetric tank, repeat all of the above for the sliding mass at different heights up the mast,
i.e. for the different centres of gravity.
9. Record all the reading in the data or result sheet.
10. Prepare the graph of lateral position of adjustable mass against angle of list each sliding mass
height. Obtain the value of dx/d𝜃 for each sliding mass height, calculate the metacentric
height, GM and the distance between the centre of buoyancy and metacentre.
 11.
Data Analysis

Pontoon Data
Breadth, B = 0.200 m
Length, L = 0.350 m
Height, H = 0.080 m
Assembled Weight, W = 2.3296 kg
Weight Of Mast, M = 0.5115 kg
Traversed Weight (horizontal), P = 0.2079 kg

Depth Of Immersed When Height Of Mast At :

 0.155 m, d i1 = 0.050 m
 0.165 m, d i2 = 0.058 m

Centre Of Gravity From Base, y At :

 0.155 m = 0.105 m
 0.165 m = 0.103 m
Results

Angle of
Distance, x Height of mast Plumb bob position
Location of traversed weight tilt,
(cm) (cm) (cm)
dθ

Center 0.0 -3.2 -11.91

1.0 -5.6 -21.18

Right 2.0 -7.2 -27.68

3.0 -8.4 -32.82

1.0 -1.4 -5.18

15.5
2.0 3.2 11.91

3.0 4.8 18.04

Left
4.0 6.4 24.39

5.0 7.8 30.21

6.0 8.6 33.70

Center 0.0 -4.8 -16.91

1.0 -6.2 -22.07

Right
2.0 -7.8 -28.21

1.0 -2.0 -6.96

16.5
2.0 0.8 2.78

Left 3.0 4.6 16.19

4.0 7.4 26.65

5.0 8.2 29.80

Calculations

b2  d 
Formula to determine metacentric height, GM  y i 
12d i  2
At height 0.155m,

(0.200) 2  0.050 
GM1   0.155  
12(0.050)  2 
 0.0433

 The metacentric height for 0.155m is 0.0433m.

At height 0.165m,

(0.200) 2  0.058 
GM 2   0.165  
12(0.058)  2 
 0.0391

 The metacentric height for 0.165m is 0.0391m