Assignment 4: Fluid Mechanics (CE 203) Date of submission: 13th September

The following questions are given for practice purposes out of which you need to submit any eight as
Assignment 4

Question 1
A piece of wood 305 mm square and 3 m long, weighing 6288.46 N/m3, is submerged vertically in a body
of water, its upper end being flush with the water surface. What vertical force is required to hold it in
position?

Question 2
Consider an object that sinks to the bottom of a beaker of liquid. The object is a block with a weight of 20
N, when weighed in air. The beaker it is to be placed in contains some water, as well as a waterproof scale
that rests on the bottom of the beaker. This scale is tared to read zero, and let’s assume the scale is
unaffected by any changes in the level of the water above it. The beaker itself rests on a second scale that
reads 50 N, the combined weight of the beaker, the water, and the scale inside the beaker. When the 20-N
block is placed in the beaker, it sinks to the bottom and comes to rest on the scale in the beaker, which
now reads 5.0 N. This is known as the apparent weight of the block. Let’s assume g = 10 m/s2 to simplify
the calculations.
(a) What is the magnitude and direction of the buoyant force applied on the block by the water?
(b) With the block now completely immersed in the water, what is the reading on the
scale under the beaker?
(c) What is the block’s density and volume?

Question 3
A Pontoon measuring 20ft.by 12ft. and 4ft deep, weighs 12 tons. It carries a load of 8 tons. The Pontoon
sits in sea water with a density of 64 lb. /cu. ft. Find its metacentric height and establish the angular
tilt which will result if the load is moved by one ft. sideways.

Question 4
A metallic cube 30 cm side and weighing 450 N is lowered into a tank containing a two-fluid layer of water
and mercury. Determine the position of the block at mercury-water interface when it has reached
equilibrium.
Question 5
A cube 50 cm side is inserted in a two-layer fluid with specific gravity 1.2 and 0.9. The upper and lower
halves of the cube are composed of materials with specific gravity 0.6 and 1.4 respectively. What is the
distance of the top of cube above interface?
Question 6
A cylindrical buoy is 2 m in diameter and 2.5 m long and weighs 22 KN. The specific weight of sea water
is 10.25 KN/m3.
a. Show that the buoy does not float with its axis vertical.
b. What minimum pull should be applied to a chain attached to the center of the base to keep the
buoy vertical?
Question 7
Determine the resultant force due to the water acting on the vertical area shown in the figure below and
locate the center of pressure in the x and y directions.

Question 8
The 2-m-diameter gate AB in the figure below swings about a horizontal pivot C located 40 mm below the
center of gravity. To what depth h can the water rise without causing an unbalanced clockwise moment
about pivot C?
Question 9
An 8-m-diameter cylinder plugs a rectangular hole in a tank that is 3 m long. With what force is the cylinder
pressed against the bottom of the tank due to the 9 m of water?

Question 10
A standard basketball (mass = 624 grams; 24.3 cm in diameter) is held fully under water. Calculate the
buoyant force and weight. When released, does the ball sink to the bottom or float to the surface? If it
floats, what percentage of it is sticking out of the water? If it sinks, what is the normal force, FN with
which it sits on the bottom of the pool?

Question 11
Would the solid wood cylinder be stable if placed vertically in oil,
as shown in the figure below? The specific gravity of the
wood is 0.61.
Question 12
Water ice has a density of 0.91 g/cm³, so it will float in liquid water. Imagine you have a cube of ice, 10 cm
on a side. (a) What is the cube's weight? (b) What volume of liquid water must be displaced in order to
support the floating cube? (c) How much of the cube is under the surface of the water.
Question 13
State the conditions to be met to ensure the stable equilibrium of a body partly immersed in water. A right
solid cone with apex angle equal to 60 DEGREES is of density K relative the that of the liquid in which it
floats with the apex downwards. Determine what range of K is compatible with stable equilibrium.
Question 14
Six objects (A-F) are in a liquid, as shown. None of them are moving. Arrange them in order of density,
from lowest to highest.