Fluid Mechanics and Machines Laboratory

(MECH2107)
Experiment-3

Centre of Pressure apparatus

Submission details

Submitted by: - Pratyush Raj

Date of Experiment: - 14-Feb-2020
Date of Submission: - 19-Feb-2020
On-time/Late Submission: - On Time
Name the people who were of help - No one, self
and provide details of help taken

Submitted to
Dr. Ashish Karn
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UPES
Lab Website: drkarnteaching.com
Name of the Experiment:
Centre of Pressure apparatus.

Introduction:
The centre of pressure where total sum of pressure field acts on a body, causing a
force to act through that point. It depends on the orientation of body. The
resultant force and the centre of pressure location produce equivalent force and
moment on the body as the original pressure field.
It is very important to study this topic because it helps us to know where the
impact will occur exactly by the fluid pressure forces. In Fluid mechanics subject
various important topics is related to it so we should have deep knowledge of
COP and hydrostatic forces. COP is helpful for engineers for designing of
Submarines, wings of aircrafts, and ship components.

Practical applications of Centre of Pressure:

1.Marine Flap rudder: In this case the COP is at the quarter chord-point. So that
when you hinge a control surface at that point, there will be an approximately
zero moment. That would let you use a smaller actuator to pivot that control
surface.
The rudder of large ships is sometimes mounted so it pivots about the quarter
chord location. You can see the turn point has returned from the main edge (side
closest the propeller). There is likewise a fold at the rear of the rudder, so
consider that length part of the harmony (front to back length of the rudder).
Right now, looks progressively like the rotate is at 1/3 of the chord rather than ¼ .

Figure1: A layout of marine flap rudder a practical demonstration of how COP is

an integral part of industry. (Taken from Alibaba.com/marine rudder).
2.Sailboat design: COP is used in sailboats design to represent the position of a
cell where the aerodynamic force is concentrated. The relation between

1
aerodynamic COP to the hydrodynamic COP on the hull determines the
behaviour of boat in wind. (Adapted from G.U.N.T….)

Figure2: A Practical demonstration of how a sailboat uses the COP concept to

float in water by the help of wind. (Taken from web).
We are doing this experiment to check how centre of pressure varies w.r.t to the
depth up to which the plane surface is submerged.
By doing this experiment we learned the concept of COP and came to know that
how this concept of COP is applied to practical applications like submarines,
wings of aeroplanes, etc.

Aim of the Experiment:

1.To determine the COP on a plane surface under partial and full submerged
condition.

Experimental setup:
Centre of pressure setup consists of: (a)- Quadrant. (b)- Balance arm. (c) Bucket
(d)- Adjustable counter balance. (e)- Drain valve. (f)- Levelling feet. (g)- Weights.
(h)- Hydraulic bench (Measuring tank).

2
Experimental Work:
Step1.Firstly in this experiment, first we have to fill the measuring tank with
water.
Step2. Then we have to place the balance pan at the end of the balance arm and
we have to hang ten weights of 50 gram each to it.
Step3.Then there is a COP indicator on the top of the quadrant. So, to find the
centre of pressure we have to drain some water slowly and gradually into the
bucket with the help of drain valve.
Step4. When the COP indicator indicates COP, close the valve and note down the
reading of the depth of immersion on the scale on the face of the quadrant.
Step5. Now remove one weight of 50 gram from the balance pan and repeat the
same procedure. Repeat the experiment until all the weights are removed and
note down all the readings.

Result and Discussion:

1.Centre of Pressure:
FOR FULLY SUBMERGED SURFACE:

Moment of inertia:

Depth of centre of gravity from liquid surface:

Centre of pressure:
FOR HALF SUBMERGED SURFACE:

Moment of inertia:

Depth of centre of gravity from liquid surface:

3
Centre of pressure:
Where “a” is the width of the surface, “b” is the length of the surface, ”h” is the
depth of bottom of quadrant from the liquid surface, IG is the moment of inertia of
the surface about horizontal axis, x’ is depth of centre of gravity from liquid
surface and ho is depth of centre of pressure from liquid surface.

Observation Table:
Test Mass Depth of Area IG(m^4) X' COP
No. in immersion(m) (m^2)
(kg)
1 0.5 1.38 0.01 8.33E- 0.088 0.097469697 Length(m) 0.1
06
2 0.45 1.285 0.01 8.33E- 0.0785 0.089115711 Breadth(m) 0.1
06
3 0.4 1.2 0.01 8.33E- 0.07 0.081904762 COG 0.05
06
4 0.35 1.1 0.01 8.33E- 0.06 0.073888889
06
5 0.3 1.01 0.01 8.33E- 0.051 0.067339869
06
6 0.25 0.945 0.00945 7.03E- 0.04725 0.063
06
7 0.2 0.835 0.00835 4.85E- 0.04175 0.055666667
06
8 0.15 0.715 0.00715 3.05E- 0.03575 0.047666667
06
9 0.1 0.58 0.0058 1.63E- 0.029 0.038666667
06
10 0.05 0.41 0.0041 5.74E- 0.0205 0.027333333
07

VARIATION OF COP VS DEPTH

0.12
0.1
Centre of pressure

0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6
Immersion depth for partial and sub. condition

Plot1: Variation of centre of Pressure with immersion depth for partially and fully
submerged condition.

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Observations related to Plot1:
From the plot we find that COP varies linearly with immersion depth for both
partially and fully submerged condition.
For Partially submerged condition, COP is less and for fully submerged
condition, COP has higher values.

Conclusions:
From this experiment we observed that the centre of pressure is getting higher as
the depth of immersion increases. For partial immersion, the centre of pressure is
situated lower than the fully immersed one.
I am graceful and would like to express sincere gratitude to my group mates who
carried their work in this experiment. I would also like to thank to our teacher of
the subject for providing me the best platform for successful completion of work
and presenting the lab report.

References:
[1] G.U.N.T. 2012. Hydrostatic Pressure Apparatus and Centre of pressure.
G.U.N.T.Hamburg, Germany.
Yunus A. Cengel, John M. Cimbala - Fundamentals and application of fluid
mechanics.