CHAPTER 3 : BOUYANCY

 Why boat floats while elephant sinks?

 Why whale floats in the seawater but could not float in the air?

 How could ships weighing thousands of tonnes float on water

while a small coin sinks right to the bottom?

Archimedes continued to do more experiments and came up

 CHAPTER 3 : BOUYANCY

3.1 Introduction

Any objects when immersed or placed in a fluid, will experience

a buoyant force. Buoyancy could be described as the floating ability
of an object or the tendency for an immersed object to afloat or to
be lifted up in the fluid while buoyant force is the net upward
vertical force, caused by fluid pressure difference (between below
body surface pressure and upper body surface pressure,). Because
the pressure on the bottom of the object surface is greater than on
the top surface, it results an upward force that tends to lift the object
upward, enables the object to float or at least seems lighter.

Different objects shown different floating tendencies. The

submarine is designed to be able to adjust its ballast to hover at any
depth, dive deeper or rise to the surface and float. The bouy,
pontoon, life jacket, boat and ship are obviously designed to be float.

The ship for example, though is made out of several thousand

tons of steel or iron, when it is shaped in such a way that after some
amount of immersion in water it displaces a volume of water
sufficient enough to counter its weight, hence the reason for
floatation. As the ship is loaded, it sinks deeper, displacing more
water, and so the magnitude of the buoyant force continuously
matches the weight of the ship and its cargo.
3.2 Archimedes Principles

Archimedes noticed that objects seem lighter when they were placed
in water. This is because, the water exerts an upward force upon the
object.
The bouyancy acting on the object must exactly counteract the
weight of the object (i.e, the two have equal magnitude).

The buoyant force is depends on fluid density, which equals its

weight per unit volume.

This force can be assumed to act at a single point on the body which
is known as the center of buoyancy of the body. And this center of
buoyancy of the body is the same as the center of gravity of the part
of the body which is immersed inside the water. It is this force of
buoyancy which keeps the object pushed upwards and prevents it
from sinking.

If the weight of an object is less than the weight of the displaced

fluid when fully submerged, then the object has an average density
that is less than the fluid and has a buoyancy that is greater than its
own weight.

If the fluid has a surface, such as water in a lake or the sea, the
object will float at a level where it displaces the same weight of fluid
as the weight of the object.
If the object is immersed in the fluid, such as a submerged
submarine or air in a balloon, it will tend to rise. If the object has
exactly the same density as the fluid, then its buoyancy equals its
weight. It will remain submerged in the fluid, but it will neither sink
nor float. An object with a higher average density than the fluid has
less buoyancy than weight and it will sink. A ship will float even
though it may be made of steel (which is much denser than water),
because it encloses a volume of air (which is much less dense than
water), and the resulting shape has an average density less than that
of the water.

Or it can be concluded as follows :

1. Positive Buoyancy = When an object has a tendency to float.

(body weight < weight of displaced liquid).
2. Negative Buoyancy = When an object has a tendency to sink.
(body weight > weight of displaced liquid).
3. Neutral Buoyancy = When an object is in a condition of balance,
neither rising nor sinking but remaining suspended at a particular
depth. (body weight = weight of displaced liquid).

Rules of thumbs

1. Objects with greater volume have greater buoyancy.

E.g : Steel ships which are built with hollow shape will float on the
sea water while a steel blocks with the same masses will sink right
to the bottom.

The weight of the displaced fluid is directly proportional to the

volume of the displaced fluid (if the surrounding fluid is of uniform
density). Thus, among completely submerged objects with equal
masses, objects with greater volume have greater buoyancy.

2. Object or substance which is less dense than the fluid will afloat.

e.g : wood block afloat on the water while oil will lay on the water
surface.
3. Any change in the fluid density affects the floating level.

E.g : fresh water is less dense than salt water. So a ship floats
lower in fresh water than it does in salt water. Warm water is less
dense than cold water, so a ship floats lower in the water if the
water temperature rises.

Procedure for solving buoyancy problems

1. Determine the objective of the problem situation. Are you going to

find a force, a weight, a volume, or a specific weight?
2. Draw a free body diagram of the object in the fluid. Show all
forces that act on the free body in the vertical direction, including
the weight of the body, the buoyant force, and all external forces.
If the direction of some forces is not known, assume the most
probable direction and show it on the free body diagram.
3. Write the equation of static equilibrium in the vertical direction,
∑FV=0, assuming the positive direction to be upward.
4. Solve for the desired force, weight, volume, or specific weight,
remembering the following concepts :
(a) The buoyant force is calculated from FB = γfluidρsubmerged =
ρfluidgρsubmerged.
(b) The weight of a solid object is the product of its total volume
and its specific weight : W = γobjectρobject
(c) An object with an average specific weight less than that of
the fluid will tend to float because W < FB with the object
submerged.
(d) An object with an average specific weight greater than that
of the fluid will tend to sink because W > FB with the object
submerged.
(e) Neutral buoyancy occurs when a body stays in a given
position wherever it is submerged in a fluid. An object whose
average specific weight is equal to that of the fluid is
neutrally buoyant.
# Example 3.1

A rectangle poontoon with 6 m wide and 12 m long, floats at 1.5 m depth in fresh
water. Determine :
a. The weight of the pontoon.
b. The buoyancy depth if it floats in seawater .
c. The weight that can be borne if the maximum bouyancy depth is 2 m.

Solution :

a. Wpoontoon = Weight of displaced volume (FB)

= ρfreshwatergVdisplaced
= 1000 x 9.81 x 12 x 6 x 1.5
= 1059.5 kN

b. Wpoontoon = FB
1059.5 x 103 = ρseawatergAh
= 1025 x 9.81 (12 x 6 ) h
h = 1.46 m

c. FB = 1000 x 9.81 ( 6 x 12 x 2) = 1412.6 kN

Therefore, extra load allow = 1412.6 – 1059.5
= 353.1 kN
# Example 3.2

A spherical buoy has a diameter of 1.5 m and weight 8.5 kN is anchored to the sea
floor with cable as shown in figure below. Although the buoy normally floats on the
surface, at certain times the water depth increases so that the bouy is completely
immersed as illustrated. For this condition what is the tension of the cable?

# Example 3.3

It is said that Archimedes discovered his principle during a bath while thinking about
how he could determine if King Hiero’s crown was actually made of pure gold. While
in the bathtub, he conceived the idea that he could determine the average density of
an irregularly shaped object by weighing it in air and also in water. If the crown
weighed 31.4 N in air and 28.9 N in water, determine if the crown is made of pure
gold. Also determine the buoyant force due to water pressure.

Take the density of gold as 19,300 kg/m3.

# Example 3.4

A crane is used to lower weights into the sea for an underwater construction project.
Determine the tension in the rope of the crane due to a rectangular 0.4m x 0.4m x
3m concrete block with density 2300 kg/m3 when
(a) suspended in the air,
(b) completely immersed in seawater.

Take the density of seawater as 1025 kg/m3.

Solution :

(a) (b)

Fig. E3.3

(a) Suspended in the air :

Refer to the FBD in Fig. E3.3 (a)

FT ,air  W   concrete g block

 23009.810.4  0.4  3
 10.8 kN

(b) completely immersed in seawater.

Refer to the FBD in Fig. E3.3 (b)

FT ,air  W  FB  W   seawater g submerged

 18.8k - 10259.810.4  0.4  3
 6.0 kN

3.3 Stability

3.3.1 Stability of Completely Immersed Body

A body is said to be in a stable equilibrium position if, when

displaced, it returns to its equilibrium position. Conversely, it is in an
unstable equilibrium position if, when displaced (even slightly), it
moves to a new equilibrium position. Stability considerations are
particularly important for submerged or floating bodies since the
centers of buoyancy and gravity do not necessarily coincide.
A small rotation can result in either a restoring or overturning couple.

For the completely submerged body shown in Fig. 3.4 (a), which has
a center of gravity below the center of buoyancy, a rotation from its
equilibrium position will create a restoring couple formed by the
weight, and the buoyant force, which causes the body to rotate back
to its original position. Thus, for this configuration the body is stable.

If the center of gravity is above the center of buoyancy (3.4 (b)), the
resulting couple formed by the weight and the buoyant force will
cause the body to overturn and move to a new equilibrium position.
Thus, a completely submerged body with its center of gravity above
its center of buoyancy is in an unstable equilibrium position.
3.3.1 Stability of Floating Body

However, for the relatively tall, slender body shown in Fig. 3.5 (b), a
small rotational displacement can cause the buoyant force and the
weight to form an overturning couple as illustrated.
The analysis of stability depends on complicated fashion on the
particular geometry and weight distribution of the body
 3.4 FLUIDS IN RIGID-BODY MOTION

Many fluids such as milk and gasoline are transported in tankers. In an

accelerating tanker, the fluid rushes to the back, and some initial splashing
occurs. But then a new free surface (usually nonhorizontal) is formed, each
fluid particle assumes the same acceleration, and the entire fluid moves like
a rigid body. No shear stresses develop within the fluid body since there is
no deformation and thus no change in shape.
Example : Fluids in rigid-body motion (White)

1. An 80-cm-high fish tank of 2 m long that is initially filled with water is to be

transported on the back of a truck (Fig. 3–52). The truck accelerates from 0 to 90
km/h in 10 s. If it is desired that no water spills during acceleration, determine the
allowable initial water height in the tank.

2. A drag racer rests her coffee mug on a horizontal tray while she accelerates at 7
m/s2. The mug is 10 cm deep and 6 cm in diameter, contains coffee 7 cm deep
at rest.

a. Assuming rigid-body acceleration of the coffee, determine whether it will spill out
of the mug.
b. Calculate the gauge pressure at point A if the density of coffee is 1010 kg/m3.
 Exercise/ Tutorial

Exercise 3.1

A raft made of four hollow drums supporting a platform as shown in Fig. E3.1. Each
drum weighs 133.8 N. How much total weight of the platform and anything placed on
it can the raft support when the drums are completely submerged in fresh water?.

Fig. E3.1
Exercise 3.2

A cylinder is floating in a fluid as shown in Fig. E3.2.

i. If the fluid has a specific gravity of 0.80, determine the density of cylinder.
ii. If the cylinder is put into the fresh water, determine the new buoyancy
distance.
iii. A brass plate with the specific weight 84 kN/m3 is to be attached to the bottom
of cylinder so that the cylinder will be completely submerged in the water. If
the brass plate is to have the same diameter with the original cylinder,
determine the required thickness of the brass plate.

Fig. E3.2

Exercise 3.3

A 7 cm diameter solid aluminium ball (SG = 2.7) and a solid brass ball (SG = 8.5)
balance nicely when submerged in a liquid as shown in Fig. E3.3.

(i) What is the diameter of brass ball if the fluid is water.

(ii) If the brass ball has a diameter of 3.8 cm, what is the density of the fluid.
(iii)
 Fig. E3.3
Exercise 3.4

(b) The uniform beam as shown in FIGURE Q3 (b) has a specific weight of
γb , length of l, width b and height h float in a fluid with a specific weight
of γf. A heavy sphere with specific gravity SGS > 1 is tied to the left corner
causes the beam to float with exactly on its diagonal. For this condition,
show:

(i) specific weight of fluid,

γf = 3γb
(ii) diameter of sphere,