FLUID

MECHANICS
| PRESSURE | DENSITY | BUOYANCY | ARCHIMEDES’ PRINCIPLE |

Members:
GARILLOS, Angel May G. (group leader)
BANCE, Christine Eli P.
ROBLES, Maria Mikaela Therese S.
LAPATING, Frances Therese H.
ELVAS, Sofia Isabel A.
PRESSURE
What does pressure mean?
If you tried to hammer a bowling pin into the wall, nothing
would probably happen except for people deciding to no longer lend
you their bowling pins. However, if you hammer with the same force
on a nail, the nail would be a lot more likely to penetrate the wall.
This shows that sometimes just knowing the magnitude of the force
isn't enough: you also have to know how that force is distributed on
the surface of impact. For the nail, all the force between the wall and
the nail was concentrated into the very small area on the sharp tip of
the nail. However, for the bowling pin the area touching the wall was
much larger, and therefore the force was much less concentrated.

To make this concept precise, we use the idea of pressure.

WHAT IS PRESSURE?
 Pressure always acts inward normal to any
surface.

 Pressure is a normal stress, and hence has

dimensions of force per unit area. In the metric
system of units, pressure is expressed in
“pascals” or N/ n2.
FORMULA OF PRESSURE

P = F/A
where:
P = pressure
F = force
A = area
F/A = F divided by A
SOME EXAMPLES OF PRESSURE IN DAILY LIFE

1. The air filled in car tires lifts the whole car

weight.
2. "Sucking a drink" through a straw -" fluid
flows because" of the pressure difference.
3. The flying of aircraft due to the "pressure on
the wings".
4. "Small bullet fired" from a gun" with
pressure.
5. A toy balloon expands because it is "filled
with air" pressure
EXAMPLE NO. 1

Calculate the pressure produced

by a force of 800 N acting on an
area of 2.0 m2.
GIVEN:
P=?
A = 2.0 m2
F = 800 N

SOLUTION:
P = F/A
P = (800 N) / (2.0 m2)
P = 400 N / m2 or 400 Pa
EXAMPLE NO. 2

Air pressure is approximately 100

000 Pascals. What force is exerted on
this book when it is sitting flat on a
desk? The area of the book’s cover is
0.035 m2.
GIVEN:
P = 100 000 Pascals
A = 0.035 m2
F=?

SOLUTION:
P = F/A
F = PA = (100 000 Pa)(0.035 m2) = 3 500 N
DIFFERENT
KINDS
OF
PRESSURE
ABSOLUTE PRESSURE

Absolute pressure is the sum of

gauge pressure and atmospheric
pressure.
 measured relative to absolute zero on
the pressure scale. Absolute pressure
can never be negative.
 it is indicated by p.

p = pa + pg
GAGE PRESSURE (A.K.A. GAUGE)

 Gage Pressure is the pressure relative to

the atmospheric pressure.
 Gage pressure is thus zero when the
pressure is the same as the atmospheric
pressure.
 it is possible to have negative gage
pressure
 is indicated by pg , and is related to
absolute pressure as follows.

pg = p − pa where pa is the local atmospheric pressure.

ABSOLUTE PRESSURE VS GAUGE PRESSURE

Absolute pressure is zero-referenced

against a perfect vacuum, so it is equal
to gauge pressure plus atmospheric
pressure. Gauge pressure is zero-
referenced against ambient air pressure,
so it is equal to absolute pressure minus
atmospheric pressure. Negative signs are
usually omitted.
EXAMPLE NO. 1

A car tire gauge measures a

tire pressure of 32.0 psi. the
local atmosphere pressure is
14.2 psi. What is the absolute
pressure of the air in the tire?
GIVEN:
pg = 32.0 psi
pa = 14.2 psi
p=?

SOLUTION: using Pascal to solve:

p = pa + pg Since 1 psi = 6894.76 pascal
p = 14.2 psi + 32.0 psi 32.0 psi = 220, 632.32 pa
= 46.2 psi 14.2 psi = 97, 905.55 pa
pg = p – pa
= 220, 632. 32 pa +
97, 905. 54 pa
p = 318, 537. 41 pa
 MORE EXAMPLES ON GAUGE AND
ABSOLUTE PRESSURE

Determine the water gauge pressure at

a house at the bottom of a hill fed by a
tank of water 8.0m deep and connected to
a house by a pipe that is 120m long and at
ang angle of 50⁰ from the horizontal.
Assume the tank is full.
SOLUTION:

pressure = rgh gravity = 9.8 m/s 2

h = 120 m ( sin50⁰) + 8m = 100
p = ( 1000 kg/ m3 ) ( 9.8 m/s 2) (100 m)
p = 9.8 x 105 N/ m2
ANOTHER EXAMPLE

A pressure gauge measures the

pgauge reading as 31 psi. If the
atmosphere pressure is 14.2 psi.
Compute the absolute pressure that
corresponds to pgauge reading.
GIVEN:
patm (Atmospheric pressure) = 31 psi
pgauge (Gauge pressure) = 14.2 psi
Absolute pressure (P) = Pa + Pg
= 31 psi + 14.2 psi
= 45.2 psi
ANOTHER EXAMPLE

The psia pressure instrument gives the

reading as 35.8 psi. If the atmospheric
pressure is 15 psi, calculate the correspon
ding guage pressure.
Given:
Atmospheric pressure (patm) = 15 psi
Absolute pressure (pabs)= 35.8 psi

The Gauge pressure is

pgauge = pabs − patm
= 35.8 psi – 15 psi
= 20.8 psi
VACUUM PRESSURE
 is measured relative to ambient atmospheric
pressure.
 a vacuum is a space where the absolute pressure is
zero.
 this can only be achieved if all particles are
removed from that space.
 in other words, the space is really empty.
 the perfect vacuum is only theoretically possible.
 it will never be technically possible to remove all
the particles in a closed volume.
 is indicated by pvac.
 pressures below atmospheric pressure are called
vacuum pressures and are measured by vacuum
gages that indicate the difference between the
atmospheric pressure and the absolute pressure.
pvac = pa − p
VACUUM PRESSURE EXAMPLES

1. Vacuum tubes are devices, usually made of glass,

that contain very low gas pressures inside the
tube.
2. Space is considered a vacuum. Space does
contains matter, but the pressure is much lower
than what you would find on a planet, for
example.
3. A vacuum cleaner sucks up debris because it
creates a pressure difference between the area to
be cleaned and the suction tube.
4. Your lungs intake air when your diaphragm drops,
creating a partial vacuum in the alveoli of the
lungs, causing air to rush in.
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

Atmospheric Pressure, also

called barometric pressure,
force per unit area exerted by an
atmospheric column (that is, the
 corresponds to surprisingly large
forces for areas you encounter
everyday
STANDARD ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

101.325 kPa (kilopascals)

or
‎14.69595 psi
(pounds per square inch)
EXAMPLE:
A sheet of paper has an area of about 500cm2 =
0.05 cm2.

Solution:
Rearrange the formula p = ( Newton’s 2nd Law in a
form designed with the fluids.)

Since we are looking for force, the formula becomes F= PA ; where

P stands for atmospheric pressure and A for area.
We use 1.01 x 105 Pa for Patm, since it is the approximated pressure
inEarth’s atmosphere near sea level.
so,
F = PA
= PatmA
= ( 1.01 x 105 Pa)
F = 5 x 103 ( N/ m2) m2 = 5 x 103 N
DENSITY
WHAT IS DENSITY?
 denoted by ρ.
 the density of a substance is equal to its mass
per unit volume.
 ρ = M/V ; where M is the mass of a sample and
V is the sample volume.
 Density of a substance can vary accordingly to
temperature and may also depend on pressure.
 However, for most liquids – including water and
oil – density is approximately independent of
pressure.
 Such fluids are called incompressible.
oThe densities of some common
substances are listed in the table. (insert
Table 8.1 of page 330)
 The SI unit of density is meter kg/m3.
oAnother way to express the density of a
substance is in terms of its specific
gravity, which is the ratio of the density of
the substance to the density of water.
EXAMPLE:

Find the mass of a piece of metal that

has a volume of 1. 25m3 and a density
of 3.2 kg/ m3.

SOLUTION:
M = ρ (v)
M= 3.2 kg/ m3 (1.25m3)
M = 4kg
EXAMPLE:

If 96.5 grams of gold has a volume

of 5 cm3, what is the density of
gold?

ρ = M ÷ V (substitute values into formula)

ρ = 96.5g / 5 cm3
ρ = 19.3 g /cm3
EXAMPLE:

If the density of a diamond is 3.5 g/cm3,

what would be the mass of a diamond
whose volume is .5 cm3?

ρ = M/V
M = ρ x V (substitute number and units )
Determining Mass
M = 3.5 g/cm3 x .5 cm3
M = 1.8 g
EXAMPLE:

If a 96.5g piece of aluminum has a

density of 2.7 g/cm3, what is its volume?

ρ = M/V
V = M ÷ ρ(substitute numbers and units)
Finding Volume from Density and Mass
V=M÷ρ
V = 96.5g ÷ 2.7 g/cm3
V = 35.7 cm3
BUOYANCY &
ARCHIMEDES’
PRINCIPLE
 Archimedes’ Principle: when an object is
immersed on a fluid, the fluid exerts an upward force on
the object that is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced
by the object.

 Bouyant force – the upward force on the object

and it is due to the increase of pressure with depth in a
fluid.
o the pressure at the bottom surface of an object is always
greater than the pressure at the top, leading to a larger
(upward) force on the bottom surface.
o F = PbotA – PtopA total force exerted by the liquid on the
object is along vertical direction.
oif we assume the fluid is a liquid of density p2, the
pressures at the bottom and top are relation by
Pbot = Ptop + p1.gh

where h is the height of the box, combining

their results gives:
F= + Pbot A- PtopA = ( P top + p1.gh) A – Ptop A =
p1.hAg
o Hence, the force exerted by the liquid is upward; this is
the bouyant force. Since the factor ( hA) in equation
above equals the volume v of the object, thus result is
usually written as:
Fb= p1.Vg

o the equation says that the bouyant force Fb equals the

weight of liquid displaced by the box.
Solving for the weight:
 So we have apparent weight when is the
minimum force is required to lift the object.
 The apparrent weight is thus smaller than the
true weight by an amount equal to the bouyant
force.
 So to solve for true weight we use: Pobj (v) (g)
Example:
Find the weight of lead with 11, 300 kg/
m3 density and has a volume of 0.10 m3.

mg = Pobj (v)(g)
= 11,400 kg/ m3 ( 0.10m3) (9.8 m/s2)
mg = 1.1 x 104 N

Using the equation of true weight of true weight, the

apparent weight of object equals:
apparent weight = PobjVa= ( Pobj – P1 ) Vg
where P1 is the density of liquid.
Example:
Assume the liquid is water (which has
density of 1000kg/ m2 ), we find

Apparent weight = ( Pobj – P1. ) Vg

= ( 11, 300 – 1000 ) (kg /
m3 ) (0.10 m3) (9.8 m/s2)
= 1.0 x 104 N
Example : Floating in Water

A regular block of wood is floating at the

surface of a container filled with water.
You observe that 80% of the block is
under water, whereas the rest is above
the surface. Find the density of the wood.
Solution:
According to Archimedes’ principle, the bouyant force
equals to the weight of the water displaced by the
block. This upward bouyant force must equal the
weight of the block in order for the block to remain in
translational equilibrium.
The block of the wood has a total amount of height
h. Since 80% of the block is submerged, the height
of the portion under water is d = 0.80h.
The top and bottom block each have area A
The volume of the block under water is Vunder = Da.
The block thus displaced a volume of water equal to
Vunder and the bouyant force equals the wight of this
displaced water:

Fb = pwater Vunderg = pwaterdAg

 The block is floating, so this bouyant force must
equal ( in magnitude) the gravitational force on the
block :
Fgrav = mwoodg = pwoodVtotalg
Where Vtotal = hA is the total volume of the block.

Settung Fgrav equal to the bouyant force FB leads to

Fb = pwaterdAg = pwoodVtotalg = pwoodhAg
Pwaterd = pwoodh
Pwood = pwater

Using d= 0.80h together with the density of water,

we find.

Pwood = pwater = ( 1000 kg/ m3 ) ( 0.80) = 800 kg/m 3

Example : How can a submarine float?

Assume that the metal is titanium ( a low-

density metal used to make submaries)
and the air is at atmospheric pressure (
so that the people outside can breathe
normally). What fraction of the submarine
must be occupied by the air cavity if the
submarine is able to float just below the
surface of the water.
Solution :

The density of titanium is 4500 kg/ m3

We denote the volume of the titanium by VTi and the
volume of air by Vair.
We denote the density of the titanium and air by pTi
and pair
The volume of water displaced is VTi + Vair, , so the
weight of the displaced water is

Weight of water = pwater ( VTi + Vair )g = FB

which is equal to the bouyant force FB. The total

weight of the submarine is the weight of the titanium
( pTi VTi g ) plus the weight of the air ( pairVairg). The
submarine is assumed to be floating under the
surface of the water, so its total weight equals the
bouyant force:

FB = pwater ( VTi + Vair )g = pTi VTig + pairVairg

THANK YOU! 