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FLUID STATICS
Pressure
Topic 2 – Part I
Introduction to Fluid Statics
 Fluid statics or hydrostatics is the study of pressures
throughout a fluid at rest.
 For fluid at rest, because there are no flow therefore there are
no shear stresses in it.
 Hence all forces are independent of viscosity.
Introduction to Pressure
 In fluid statics, pressure is a the main important physical
quantity that have to be considered.
 When the magnitude and direction of pressure is determined,
the magnitude of hydrostatics force can be calculated.
 Pressure is a normal stress, and hence has dimensions of force
per unit area.
 In the Metric system of units, pressure is expressed as
“pascals” (Pa) or N/m2.
 Other units are kPa, bar, atm, mmHg dan psi (psig or psia).
Where 1 kPa = 103 Pa and 1 bar =105 Pa
 Cont...
 The pressure at a point on a plane surfaces always acts
inward normal to the surface and this is true eventhough
for a curve plane surfaces.
Atmospheric pressure
 We are surrounded by atmosphere or atmospheric air.
 Atmospheric air contains gases like Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon,
CO2 and water vapor.
 Due to this content it gives the weight and this weight is called
as atmospheric pressure.
 This pressure varies with temperature, altitude and weather
conditions.
 At sea level it has a mean value of 1 atmosphere but reduces
with increasing altitude (due to decreases in atmospheric
content).
 Standard atmospheric pressure, measured at sea level is 1.013
bar = 101.3 kPa = 765 mmHg = 1 atm.
Absolute Pressure
 The actual pressure at a given position.
 It is measured relative to absolute vacuum (i.e., absolute zero
pressure).
 And it is always positive.
Gauge Pressure
 Gauge pressure is a pressure measured relative to the current
local atmospheric pressure.
 As we live constantly under the pressure of the atmosphere, it
is convenient to take atmospheric pressure as the datum. So
we quote pressure as above or below atmospheric. Pressure
quoted in this way is known as gauge pressure
 Most pressure-measuring devices are calibrated to read the
atmospheric pressure as zero, and so they give the gauge
pressure.
 It is a difference between the absolute pressure and the local
atmospheric pressure.
 It can be positive and negative, and the negative gauge pressure
is called as vacuum pressure (below atmospheric pressure).
Absolute, atmospheric, gauge, and vacuum pressures can be
graphically represent as figure below while the relation between
them are given as follows:
Example 2.1
Example 2.2
Example 2.3
Pascal’s Law for Pressure At A Point
 Pressure is the compressive force per unit area but it is not a
vector.
 Pressure has magnitude but not a specific direction, and thus it
is a scalar quantity.
 For a static fluid, Pascal’s Law state that pressure at any point
is the same in all directions.
Pascal Law – Pressure at a point acts equally in all directions

Forces acting on a wedge-shaped

fluid element in equilibrium.
14
Snow flake – water structure
Pressure Variation with Elevation
Consider a fluid element as shown in figure.
Pressure Variation with Elevation

In any constant density fluid

pressure decreases with
increase of height z.
When the variation of density
with elevation is known, the
pressure difference is given by
Pressure at any depth h measured from the
free surface.
For the fluid with free surface as shown
in figure, the pressure at any depth h can
be obtained where,

p2 - p1 = -g(z2 - z1)
or p2 - p1 = g(z1 - z2)

Therefore p2 - p1 = gh
or p2 = p1 + gh
Cont...
But p1 = patm
Therefore p2 = patm + gh (absolute pressure)

However, for engineering purposes, it is more convenient to measure

the pressure above a datum pressure at atmospheric pressure i.e.,
Patm = 0.
Therefore p2 = 0 + gh = gh (gauge pressure)

Note : The pressure in a liquid at rest increases linearly with depth

from the free surface because more fluid rests on deeper layers and
the effect of this “extra weight” on a deeper layer is balanced by an
increase in pressure.
Pressure at the same level in a static fluid
For a static fluid with the same density, pressure at the same level in
the horizontal direction is constant.
This is true for any continuous fluid. It is still true for two connected
tanks which appear not to have any direct connection, for example for
the tank in the figure below.
Rules of Thumbs
1. Pressure is equal to Patm at any fluid surface open to the
atmosphere.
2. The shape of container does not matter in fluid statics.
Example 2.4
Example 2.5

A tank of oil with one side open to

the atmosphere and the other side
sealed with air above the oil. The
oil has specific gravity of 0.90.
Calculate the gauge pressure at
points A, B, C, D, E, and F, and air
pressure in the right side of the
tank (point G).
Example 2.5…Cont…
Observation and Conclusion :

 The pressure increases as the depth

in the fluid increases. This result can
be seen from pC > pB > pA.
 Pressure varies linearly with a change
in elevation. From the result pC is
two times greater than pB where C is
at twice the depth of B.
 Pressure on the same horizontal
level is the same. Note that pE = pA
and pD = pB .
 The decrease in pressure from E to F
occurs because point F is at a higher
elevation than point E. Note that pF
is negative = it is below the
atmospheric pressure that exists at A
and E.
Pressure head
 We know that the gauge pressure is given by :
 As g is (approximately) constant, the gauge pressure can be
given by stating the vertical height of any fluid of density ρ
which is equal to this pressure.
 This vertical height is known as fluid "head".
 Head units are mostly used for very low pressures and
expressed as "mm Hg" or "mm H2O".
Example 2.6
In class practice
Blood pressure is usually measured by wrapping a closed air-
filled jacket equipped with a pressure gauge around the upper
arm of a person at the level of the heart. Using a mercury
manometer and a stethoscope, the systolic pressure (the
maximum pressure when the heart is pumping) and the
diastolic pressure (the minimum pressure when the heart is
resting) are measured in mmHg. The systolic and diastolic
pressures of a healthy person are about 120 mmHg and 80
mmHg, respectively, and are indicated as 120/80. Express both
of these gauge pressures in kPa, and meter water column.