FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING DIPLOMA IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA LABORATORY MANUAL

COURSE WATER ENGINEERING LABORATORY

COURSE CODE ECW341
LEVEL OF OPENNESS 1
CATEGORY PARTIALLY OPEN
DEGREE OF OPEN
33%
ENDED
PERIOD OF ACTIVITY 1 WEEK
LAB NO 2.3
TITLE DETERMINATION OF METACENTRIC HEIGHT

INTRODUCTION

In this laboratory activity, the students will be exposed with the apparatus to
determine the metacentric height of a floating body. Knowledge on metacentric
height, centre of gravity and centre of buoyancy is important to determine the
stability of a floating body.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the test is:

To identify the position of the metacentre (M) of a floating body, by referring the
distance from the centre of gravity (G).

PREAMBLE

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the laboratory works, students should be able to:

i) Conduct and construct the metacentric height laboratory experiments.

(CO1 – PO4)
ii) Analyze and interpret the data based on obtained data. (CO2 – PO6)

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 FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING DIPLOMA IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA LABORATORY MANUAL

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
In these laboratory activities students will be exposed to the equipment that
used to measure the metacentric height of pontoon. For static equilibrium of
the pontoon, the total weight, 𝑊, (which acts through the centre of gravity, 𝐺)
must be equal to the buoyancy force which acts through the centre of buoyancy
𝐵, which is located at the centroid of the immersed cross-section. When the
pontoon heels through a small angle, the metacentre 𝑀 is identified as the point
of intersection between the lines of action of the buoyancy force (always
vertical) and 𝐵𝐺 extended. For stable equilibrium, 𝑀 must be above 𝐺.
There are two methods to measure the metacentric height, GM.

FOR ADJUSTABLE POSITION TRAVERSED WEIGHT EXPERIMENT

When the traversing weight is moved to one side, the centre of gravity, 𝐺, shifts
to a new position, 𝐺 ′ , and the centre of buoyancy, 𝐵, also shifts to a new
position, 𝐵′ as shown in Figure 1.

Since the shift in the centre of gravity was caused by moving the weight, 𝑃
through a distance 𝑥, then:
Px = W(GG′ ) (5.1)

Figure 1: Movement of adjustable weight from the centerline

(5.2)
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 FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING DIPLOMA IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA LABORATORY MANUAL

𝐺𝐺 ′ = 𝐺𝑀 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜃
𝑃𝑥 (5.3)
𝐺𝑀 = 𝑐𝑜𝑡𝜃
𝑊
0

Where
𝑃 = weight of movable mass
𝑥 = distance between the movable mass and the mast of the pontoon

BASED UPON GEOMETRY AND DEPTH OF IMMERSION

The metacentric height, 𝐺𝑀, is defined as

𝐺𝑀 = 𝐵𝑀 − 𝐵𝐺 (5.4)

0
The metacentric radius, 𝐵𝑀, can be defined as

𝐼 (5.5)
𝐵𝑀 =
𝑉
0

where
𝐼= the second moment of area of the plane of floating about an axis through
the centroid perpendicular to the plane of rotation, as the pontoon heels.
𝑉= the immersed volume

The immersed volume, 𝑉 can be determined by calculation. Since the buoyant

force (upthrust) is equal to the total weight, 𝑊, of the pontoon and its load then,
𝜌𝑔𝑉 = 𝑊
(5.6)
The depth of immersion, 𝑑𝑖 can then be found from 0

(5.7)
𝑉 = 𝐿𝑏𝑑𝑖
0

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 FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING DIPLOMA IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA LABORATORY MANUAL

The point 𝐵 is the centroid of immersed area. It is at distance 𝑑𝑖 ⁄2 from the

base. The centre of gravity 𝐺 is at a distance 𝑦 above the base (Figure 2). By
substitution from above, the following result is obtained.

𝑏2 𝑑𝑖 (5.8)
𝐺𝑀 = (𝑦 − )
12𝑑𝑖 2
0

G
y
di B di/2

Figure 2: Section through a floating pontoon

An important application of the buoyancy concept is the assessment of the

stability of immersed and floating bodies when being placed in a fluid. Knowing
metacentre, M location is vital and great importance in the design of ships and
submarines. The body is said stable if M is above G and unstable if otherwise.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Students are required to perform a relevant experiment to fulfil the objective
stated above using both method namely adjustable position traversed weight
experiment and based upon geometry and depth of immersion. For
computation purpose, the students are asked to find the equations from the
literature or existing manual for fluid and hydraulic laboratory

APPARATUS

WAYS AND MEANS

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 FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING DIPLOMA IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA LABORATORY MANUAL

Metacentric height apparatus, hydraulic bench, weigh balance, ruler, knife

edge or fine string. The following dimensions from the equipment are used in
the appropriate calculations. If required these values may be checked as part
of the experimental procedure and replaced with your own measurement.
Pontoon data width 200 mm, length 400 mm, height 100mm. Jockey weight
200 g, adjustable weight 500 g and total weight is 2520 g.

PROCEDURE

i) Weight a) the assembled pontoon, b) the traversed weight (horizontal)

and measure pontoon dimensions.
ii) Each group should have difference centre of gravity compare to
others. In order to change the centre of gravity, slide the traverse
weight on mast to the desired location. Below are the suggested
locations of the traversed weight to determine the centre of gravity.

Group 1 = 16 cm from base

Group 2 = 17 cm from base
Group 3 = 18 cm from base
Group 4 = 19 cm from base

iii) Locate the pontoon’s centre of gravity, y by balancing the mast of

pontoon on a knife edge.
iv) Place the pontoon in the water.
v) Adjust the traverse weight (horizontal) to its middle position. The
plumb bob should now read “0” tilt angle. If not, adjust the line
accordingly.
vi) Move the traverse weight slightly to right side (1 cm) and record the
angle of tilt. (Note: observe the line marked by the plumb bob.
Measure height of mast in order to calculate the angle of tilt)
vii) Repeat step 5 until maximum tilt or until the pontoon is unstable.
viii) Repeat step 5 and 6 by moving the traverse weight to the left side.

The group is required to submit the technical report of the laboratory results
highlighting the apparatus used, the procedures undertaken for the test, data
acquisition process, analysis carried out and the relevancy of the set-out output
RESULTS
to address the given problem.

In your discussion, explain experimental factors which could have contributed

to variation of results compare to theoretical calculation.

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