Chapter 3

PRESSURE AND FLUID STATICS

Solved Problems

1
Problem 1

2
3
Problem 2
Freshwater and seawater flowing in parallel horizontal
pipelines are connected to each other by a double U-tube
manometer, as shown in the figure.
Determine the pressure difference between the two pipelines.
Take the density of seawater at that location to be 1035 kg/m3.
Can the air column be ignored in the analysis?

4
Solution

Starting with the pressure in the fresh water pipe

(point 1) and moving along the tube by adding (as
we go down) or subtracting (as we go up) the gh
terms until we reach the sea water pipe (point 2),
and setting the result equal to P2 gives

Discussion A 0.70-m high air column with a density of 1.2 kg/m3 corresponds to a
pressure difference of 0.008 kPa.
5
Therefore, its effect on the pressure difference between the two pipes is negligible.
Problem 3

6
Solution A gas contained in a vertical piston-cylinder device is pressurized by a
spring and by the weight of thepiston. The pressure of the gas is to be
determined.
Analysis Drawing the free body diagram of the piston and balancing the vertical
forces yields

7
Problem 4

8
9
Problem 5
The volume and the average density of an irregularly shaped body are to be determined by
using a spring scale. The body weighs 7200 N in air and 4790 N in water. Determine the
volume and the density of the body. State your assumptions.

10
Problem 6

Consider a large cubic ice block floating in seawater. The specific gravities
of ice and seawater are 0.92 and 1.025, respectively. If a 25-cm-high
portion of the ice block extends above the surface of the water,
Determine the height of the ice block below the surface.

11
 Solution

The weight of a body floating in a fluid is equal to the buoyant force acting on it (a
consequence of vertical force balance from static equilibrium). Therefore, in this
case the average density of the body must be equal to the density of the fluid since

12