1.

Fluid statics and

pressure
COE-C2003 Basic Course on Fluid Mechanics
Ossi Kaario

http://www.deepseachallenge.com

●Now we move to look in to the operation of fluids

●We begin by considering a fluid at rest
●Challenger deep, >10’000 m, pressure ~1000 bar

1
Topic of the day
What is the effect of pressure in a fluid at rest ? How can we use this information when
measuring pressure and calculating the forces due to the fluid ?

Motivation: A fluid at rest is one of the simplest fluid mechanical problems, and so it is a very
good starting point for learning fluid mechanics. At the same time, understanding the
pressure distribution in the fluid is central in many practical situations.

Young et al, chapters 2.1-2.10, 2.13

●The topics to be learned

●The concept of pressure

●Pressure in a fluid at rest and the hydrostatic equation

●Measuring pressure with manometers

●Calculating the forces by fluids

●Motivation

2
Learning outcomes
Define pressure at various locations within a fluid at rest

Explain how manometers operate. Calculate pressures and pressure differences by using
proper equations for the manometers.

Calculate the hydrostatic force by a fluid on a surface

3
 What does pressure mean and
how it affects fluid at rest ?

●CP 10
●Can you answer this questions ?

●Pressure is a thermodynamic quantity which originates from the movement

of molecules
●It is relevant to know what pressure is meant (e.g. absolute or relative

pressure compared to the atmospheric pressure)

2 2
●Pressure is F/A (N/m , kg/(ms ), Pa); normal force, infinitesimal area

●The direction of a surface does not affect the magnitude of the force due to

the pressure, i.e. pressure is a scalar

●However, the direction of the surface will affect the direction of the force

because pressure is a normal force on the surface

●For a fluid at rest, what is the pressure at different locations ?

●What do you feel in your ears when you dive ?

● Why the air is thin when far above the surface of the earth

●Why is there such a dependency ?

●The fluid needs to carry the mass of the above fluid

●Typically this change is important only in liquids. If the height difference is

big, then the effect may be important in gases as well (athmosphere)

4
Next, lest formulate a mathematical connection to the pressure change
●

4
How can we obtain an equation for
pressure when fluid is at rest

Young et al (2012), Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, 5th edition

●We examine an infinitesimal cubical fluid particle at rest

●The only forces acting on it are the pressure and the weight of the

particle
●There are no shear forces because the fluid does not move, so it is also

not deforming
●(There is a more general derivation in the book for a deforming

particle)
●The obtained result suggest that the pressure change as a function of

vertical distance is linearly dependent on

●Density

●Gravity

●The dependency on density explains why for gases the pressure

changes are not significant (unless the difference in height is very big)

5
 𝛿 = ’delta’, signifying a distance

𝜕 = ’delta’, partial derivative

How is pressure changing from point to point in a fluid ? Consider

a small rectangular fluid element at rest (without any shear
stresses). The forces we have are then either surface forces or body
forces. The surface forces are due to pressure and the body force is
due to gravity.
The force in the y-direction can be written as:

𝛿𝐹 = 𝑝 − 𝛿𝑥𝛿𝑧 − 𝑝 + 𝛿𝑥𝛿𝑧 = 0

x-direction is similar (not shown)

z-direction:

𝜕𝑝 𝛿𝑧 𝜕𝑝 𝛿𝑧
𝛿𝐹 = 𝑝 − 𝛿𝑥𝛿𝑦 − 𝑝 + 𝛿𝑥𝛿𝑦 − 𝜌𝑔𝛿𝑥𝛿𝑦𝛿𝑧 = 0
𝜕𝑧 2 𝜕𝑧 2

6
We get from the y-direction (x-direction is similar)

𝜕𝑝 𝜕𝑝
− 𝛿𝑥𝛿𝑦𝛿𝑧 = 0 → =0
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

We get from the z-direction

𝜕𝑝 𝜕𝑝
− 𝛿𝑥𝛿𝑦𝛿𝑧 − 𝜌𝑔𝛿𝑥𝛿𝑦𝛿𝑧 = 0 → = −𝜌𝑔
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧

So pressure depends only on the z-coordinate and can be

written as
𝑑𝑝
= −𝜌𝑔
𝑑𝑧

7
 How can we solve the pressure
distribution in a fluid at rest ?

●CP 25
●Now that we have a nice differential equation for pressure,

lets discuss how to solve it

●Lets consider two situations:

●Incompressible fluid where density is constant (e.g. ocean)

●Compressible fluid where density is a function of pressure

(e.g. atmosphere)

8
How can we solve the pressure
distribution in a fluid at rest ?

●Lets go through the incompressible case

●For the incompressible case, we integrate the equation

●The solution is the hydrostatic equation for pressure

●Note that h is the depth from the zero level e.g. –z

●Pressure is increasing linearly with the depth (rule of thumb: in

water one atmosphere is about 100 kPa per 10 meters)

●In the compressible case, we first use the equation of state and

then separate the variables

●The analytical solution is obtained when we assume constant

temperature
●The difference to the incompressible case is rather small

●The increase in pressure when the depth is increasing can be

directly linked to the fluid mass above the point of interest. The
fluid is ‘carrying’ the mass above it.

9
Pressure distribution (hydrostatic pressure) is
𝑑𝑝
= −𝜌𝑔
𝑑𝑧
Typically changes in gravity are not big and liquid can be considered as incompressible.
We can integrate the above equation

𝑑𝑝 = −𝜌𝑔 𝑑𝑧 → 𝑝 − 𝑝 = 𝜌𝑔 𝑧 − 𝑧

Or
𝑝 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ + 𝑝

If we think about a free fluid surface where 𝑝 = 𝑝 we get

𝑝 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ + 𝑝

●Lets go through the incompressible case

●For the incompressible case, we integrate the equation
●The solution is the hydrostatic equation for pressure

●Note that h is the depth from the zero level e.g. –z

●Pressure is increasing linearly with the depth (rule of thumb: in water one atmosphere is about 100 kPa per 10 meters)

●The increase in pressure when the depth is increasing can be directly linked to the fluid mass above the point of

interest. The fluid is ‘carrying’ the mass above it.

10
 Hydrostatic pressure, connection to mass
𝑝 A

h 𝐹 , = 𝜌𝑔ℎ𝐴 + 𝑝 𝐴 − 𝑝 𝐴 = 𝜌𝑔𝑉 = 𝑚𝑔

A 𝑝 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ + 𝑝

11
How can we solve the pressure
distribution in a fluid at rest ?

12
 Applying the above to measure
pressure

●CP 35
●Since there is a linear connection between the pressure and

the fluid height, it is natural to use this for measuring

pressure
●So instead of pressure, we measure the height of the fluid

●For this, various applications have been developed

●All are however based on the same idea on the hydrostatic

pressure
●In all of the devices, the calculation is based on a similar

process

13
Applying the above to measure
pressure

(manometer pressure → p0=0)

Young et al (2012), Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, 5th edition

●The simplest application is a piezometer

●Measure the height of the fluid h
1
●In the open end, there is atmospheric pressure
●The pressure from point A is obtained directly from the
hydrostatic eq. using the fluid height
●Note, in the result, the pressure is the manometer pressure, i.e. relative
pressure to the atmospheric pressure, as in all other cases
●The problem with a piezometer is that

●It works only with liquids

●The pressure in the pipe/reservoir needs to be big enough so that there

will be no air leaking to the reservoir (in practise over pressure

compared to atmospheric pressure)
●At the same time the pressure cannot be too small as not to have too

high fluid height

●It not possible to play with density because the manometer liquid is the

same as the liquid which is to be measured

14
Applying the above to measure
pressure

1 → 2, 3 → 4, 4 → 5

Young et al (2012), Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, 5th edition

●U-manometer avoids problems associated with piezometer

●There is a separate manometer fluid that can be very dense

(e.g. mercury)
●U-manometer is also used to measure pressure difference

between two containers or pipes

●We apply the hydrostatic eq. for each section at a time

starting from either end (we start from pipe A)

●Always stop between two different fluids

●Pressure stays constant within the same fluid when we

move horizontally
●The pressure at the end of one section will be the reference

pressure for the new section

●Let’s look at an example

●This is directly linked to your homework exercises

15
Applying the above to measure
pressure
. (1)
Young et al (2012), Prob. 2.27

. .
(4) (5)
Mercury manometer is connected to
a pipe A containing gasoline (SG =
0,65) and to pipe B containing water.
Determine the reading h
corresponding to a pressure in A of

(2) . . (3)
20 kPa and a vacuum of 20 kPa in
pipe B.

Solution: approx. 0.38 m

Specific gravity (SG)=𝝆⁄𝝆𝑯𝟐 𝑶

Lets calculate an example

16
 We calculate A12345 Note that we are measuring
A1 ∆𝑝 = 0 the gage pressure (instead of
absolute pressure) which is
12 ∆𝑝 = +𝜌 𝑔 0.3 + ℎ relative to the athmospheric
pressure.
23 ∆𝑝 = 0
34 ∆𝑝 = −𝜌 𝑔ℎ
45 ∆𝑝 = 0
56 ∆𝑝 = +𝜌 𝑔 0.3 + ℎ

𝑝 = 𝑝 + 𝜌 𝑔 0.3 + ℎ − 𝜌 𝑔ℎ + 𝜌 𝑔 0.3 + ℎ

𝑝 − 𝑝 = 𝜌 𝑔0.3 − 𝜌 𝑔0.3 + 𝜌 𝑔 0.3 + ℎ + ℎ𝑔 𝜌 − 𝜌 + 𝜌

𝑝 − 𝑝 − 0.3𝑔 𝜌 + 𝜌
ℎ=
𝑔 𝜌 +𝜌 −𝜌

−20 × 10 − 20 × 10 − 0.3 9.81 650 + 1000

= [𝑚]
9.81 650 + 1000 + 13600
ℎ ≈ 0.38 𝑚

17
Discuss the concept of pressure
and how to measure it
Discuss the below topics:

1. What does pressure mean ?

2. How can we measure it ?

3. Air is more dense close to the surface of earth compared to the situation at 10 km
height. Why ? Or why does the pressure increase (in your ears) when you dive
deaper in the water ?

4. Discuss the previous slide example (the attached figure). Into what direction does
pressure increase ? And into what direction does in decrease ? How should you
proceed in the calculation example ?

• Discuss the topics in the list

• In the end, lets briefly unwrap the results

18
 How can we calculate the forces
due to pressure ?

●CP 10
●Because pressure is connected to forces, the above question is relevant
●The is also a very important question for practical applications e.g. concerning forces on structures that are under

water

19
How can we calculate the forces
due to pressure ?

Young et al (2012), Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, 5th edition

●Pressure is by definition a force divided into an area at a direction normal to the surface (perpendicular)
●Pressure is not constant in the fluid but it has a hydrostatic distribution as we learned above
●How can we define the force (F=p*A) on surfaces due to static pressure if we know the pressure ?

20
How can we calculate the forces
due to pressure ?

Young et al (2012), Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, 5th edition

●We study a submerged plate which has liquid on its other side
●Pay attention to the coordinate system
●So the y-axis is rotated and it is parallel to the plate

●We start from the definition of pressure (force per area) and infinitesimal area

●Calculation of the total force

●Calculation of the location of the force

●Note

●The magnitude of the force is calculated from pressure that acts on the centroid

●The location of the force is however not the centroid but below it

●The force below the centroid is bigger than the force above the centroid so that the force is greater below the centroid

21
 Lets consider a differential force dF acting on a
differential area dA
𝑑𝐹 = 𝑝𝑑𝐴 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ𝑑𝐴 = 𝜌𝑔𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝑑𝐴

Integrating over the whole surface

𝐹 = 𝑑𝐹 = 𝜌𝑔𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝑑𝐴

= 𝜌𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝑦𝑑𝐴 = 𝜌𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝑦 𝐴

1st moment of the area Centroid

𝐹 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ 𝐴

●We study a submerged plate which has liquid on its other side
●Pay attention to the coordinate system
●So the y-axis is rotated and it is parallel to the plate

●We start from the definition of pressure (force per area) and infinitesimal area

●There is a infinitesimal force on the small area which magnitude is pressure times area

●The total force is obtained by summing up, or integrating, all the infinitesimal force contributions

●Since for a fluid at rest the pressure distribution is known and linear, we do not always need to integrate but we can

have simple engineering equations for calculating the force

●Calculation of the total force

●Calculation of the location of the force

●Note

●The magnitude of the force is calculated from pressure that acts on the centroid

●The location of the force is however not the centroid but below it

●The force below the centroid is bigger than the force above the centroid so that the force is greater below the centroid

22
The force magnitude 𝐹 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ 𝐴 is obtained relatively easily if
the distance of the centroid is known. Note that the force
magnitude does not depend on the angle of the plane. It only
depends on the gravity, fluid density, area, and the depth of the
centroid below the surface.

The 1st and 2nd moments of the area

∫ 𝑦 𝑑𝐴 n=1  1st moment of the area

n=2  2nd moment of the area (moment of
inertia, pintahitaus)

In mechanics, typically only cases n=1 or 2 are considered.

23
The center of pressure
One could think that the total force could be reduced to the centroid
of the area. However, this is not the case since pressure is not
constant but it is increasing linearly as a function of the depth. The
center of pressure can be defined based on the moment of inertia.
The y-coordinate, 𝑦 , of the resultant force can be determined by the
summation of the moments around the x axis. That is, the moment
of the resultant force must equal the moment of the distributed
pressure force

𝐹 𝑦 = 𝑦𝑑𝐹 = 𝜌𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝑦 𝑑𝐴

Because 𝐹 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ 𝐴 = 𝜌𝑔𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝐴

We obtain 𝜌𝑔𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝐴 𝑦 = 𝜌𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 𝑦 𝑑𝐴

∫ 𝑦 𝑑𝐴 𝐼
𝑦 = = 2nd moment of the area
𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑦

24
 Here 𝐼 is the moment of inertia (2nd moment of the area) around the
x-axis. This is easier to calculate when we consider the moment of
inertia around the centroid of the area.

𝐼 =𝐼 + 𝐴𝑦 Parallel axis theorem

𝐼 is the 2nd moment of the area with respect to an axis passing

through its centroid and parallel to the x-axis.
𝐼
𝑦 = +𝑦
𝐴𝑦

𝐼
𝑦 = +𝑦
𝑦𝐴

Around the y-axis in similar manner (in the book).

25
How can we calculate the forces
due to pressure ?

𝐼 is available in tables for various shapes

26
How can we calculate the forces
due to pressure ?
Young et al (2012), Prob. 2.54

At what distance, h, should the frictionless

shaft be located so that it would be just
opening ?

What is the magnitude of the force on the

gate when it opens (width 2m) ?

Solution: approx. 2,1 m and 940 kN

●CP 25
●Lets calculate an example

●The gate opens if the shaft is below the point of the hydrostatic force

●In the above situation, the shaft should be located at the point of the

hydrostatic force so that the gate would just be opening

●So we need to calculate the point of the hydrostatic force y and
R
subtract the distance between the upper end of the gate and the fluid
surface
●As we can see from the result, this is below the gate centroid

●From the equation we can see that the closer the gate is to the fluid

surface, the further away is the point of the force from the centroid
●So when we are far away from the fluid surface, the relative change in

pressure is small with changes in the depth compared to the total

pressure. Thus, the force difference between the upper and lower parts
of a gate is smaller than if the gate is closer to the fluid surface.

27
 As depth increases the center of pressure (yR) moves towards the
centroid (yc) of the gate. If we locate the hinge (shaft) at yR when depth
= 10 m + d, the gate will open automatically for any further increase in
depth.

1
Since 𝐼 = 𝑏𝑎
12
1
𝐼 12 2𝑚 4𝑚
𝑦 = +𝑦 = + 12𝑚 = 12.11 𝑚
𝑦𝐴 12𝑚 2𝑚 4𝑚

Then if we locate the hinge at yR  𝑦 = 10𝑚 + 𝑑

𝑑 = 𝑦 − 10 𝑚 = 12.11 𝑚 − 10 𝑚 = 2.11 𝑚

The force is then

𝑘𝑔
𝐹 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ 𝐴 = 1000 𝑚 9.81 𝑚 𝑠 12𝑚 8𝑚

𝐹 ≈ 940 𝑘𝑁

●CP 25
●Lets calculate an example

●The gate opens if the shaft is below the point of the hydrostatic force

●In the above situation, the shaft should be located at the point of the

hydrostatic force so that the gate would just be opening

●So we need to calculate the point of the hydrostatic force y and
R
subtract the distance between the upper end of the gate and the fluid
surface
●As we can see from the result, this is below the gate centroid

●From the equation we can see that the closer the gate is to the fluid

surface, the further away is the point of the force from the centroid
●So when we are far away from the fluid surface, the relative change in

pressure is small with changes in the depth compared to the total

pressure. Thus, the force difference between the upper and lower parts
of a gate is smaller than if the gate is closer to the fluid surface.

28
What did we learn ?
What is the effect of pressure in a fluid at rest, and how can we use this
information when measuring pressure and calculating the forces due to the
fluid.

Motivation: A fluid at rest is one of the simplest fluid mechanical problems,

and so it is a very good starting point for learning fluid mechanics. At the
same time, understanding the pressure distribution in the fluid is central in
many practical situations.

Young et al, kappaleet 2.1-2.10, 2.13

●CP 35
●Central topics

●The concept of pressure

●Pressure distribution and the hydrostatic equation

●Measuring pressure and the manometer

●Calculating the static forces due to pressure

29
For the next time
Next Tuesday lecture: “Moving fluid and the Bernoulli equation ”, Young et
al (2012): 4.1-4.2, 3.1-3.3

How do we typically describe the movement of a fluid particle, and how is

this used to derive a connection between pressure and fluid velocity.

Young et al, kappaleet 2.1-2.10, 2.13

● Topic of the next lecture

● Read the book

30