Static Fluids

What is a fluid?
• State of matter which does not have a fixed shape, but
adjust to the shape of a container.
or
• A state of matter of a substance that yields to pressure
outside it.
• Fluids are Liquid and Gaseous phases of matter
• Static fluid – Non-flowing fluid (i.e. fluid at rest)
Mass density (or, just ‘density’)
Mass density, ρ:- Amount of mass of a substance
contained per unit volume
(SI unit – kg.m-3)

For a cube
ρ = (mass)/volume
d = (cube mass)/(d3)
“where d is the length of
each of the sides of a cube”
• All phases of matter have density (Generally, a solid
phase of a substance has the largest magnitude , while
the gaseous has the smallest)
• Density varies with temperature. For most substances,
density decreases with an increase of temperature
• It also varies with pressure. Increase of pressure on the
object results in a corresponding increase of its density
• Density magnitude depends on the atomic make-up of a
substance. Same material - identical densities under
same conditions (irrespective of shape and size).
 Densities of some materials (at room temperatures)
Material ρ (kg.m-3) Material ρ (kg.m-3)
Air 1.29 Mercury 13 600
Brass 8 500 Steel 7 900
Gold 19 300 Concrete 2 200
Ice 920 Diamond 3 500
Hydraulic oil 800 Water (4 oC) 1 000
Aluminium 2 700 Silver 10 500
Sea water 1 020 Pine wood 550
Copper 8 890 Lead 11 300
Ethanol 810 Glycerine 1260
Relative density
• Ratio of density of any object relative to that of a
pre-determined substance
• The mostly used pre-determined substance is water
at 4 oC
Relative density of substance A :
ρ(substance A) ρ
= (substance A)
ρwater 1000 kg.m-3
• Relative density is also known as Specific Gravity
e.g. 1 An empty container has a mass of 74.0 g.
Upon the container being filled with hydraulic
oil, its ‘weight’ becomes 196.3 g.
1.1 What is the volume of the container?
The container is then filled with an unknown
fluid, and its mass becomes 109.8 g.
1.2 What is the relative density of the
unknown fluid?
 empty hydraulic oil unknown

74.0 g 196.3 g 109.8 g

1.1 Since mass of air (inside an empty bottle) is
negligible compared to that of the material the
bottle is made of, we take 74.0g to be the mass
of the material the bottle is made of.
Thus, moil = (196.3 – 74.0) × 10-3 kg =

Therefore, Vbottle= Voil = (moil /ρoil) =

1.2 ρ(unknown) = m(unknown)/V(unknown) … (i)
where m(unknown) = (109.8 – 74.0) × 10-3 kg =
and V(unknown) = Voil … (ii)
(Since the unknown fluid occupies volume that
was occupied by the oil)

Thus, ρ(unknown) =

Therefore, SGunknown = (ρ(unknown))/(1000 kg.m-3)

Pressure
• Pressure: Amount of a force component,
which acts perpendicularly to an area,
per magnitude of that area; P = (FꞱ/A). F
(It is a scalar quantity)
• SI unit of pressure is a pascal (Pa)
• Other commonly used units: atmosphere (atm),
millimetres of mercury (mmHg) and bar (bar)
• 1.013 × 105 Pa = 760 mm Hg = 1 atm = 1.01 bar
• (1 Pa = 1 N.m-2)
• A fluid exerts pressure on the surface in contact with it
e.g. 2 A cube of concrete, mass = 8 100 kg, rests
on the ground.
2.1 Determine the length of one of the sides
of the concrete.
2.2 How much pressure is exerted by the
concrete on the ground?
2.3 Express the pressure exerted by concrete
in mmHg.
Data: m = 8100 kg, l
ρ = 2 200 kg.m-3 l

2.1 Since ρ = m/l 3 ; then, l = [m/ρ]1/3

2.2 Pc = (Fg/A); where A = l 2 and

Fg = m × (9.8 m.s-2)
This leads to, Pc =
2.3 If 1.01 × 105 Pa = 760 mmHg … (a)
and Pc = X … (b)

Then, (a) and (b) imply:

X = (Pc × 760 mmHg)/(1.01 × 105 Pa)

Atmospheric pressure
• Pressure can be exerted by the atmosphere, due to gases
that constitute it
• Atmospheric pressure is felt by a surface exposed to the
atmosphere
• Varies with altitude (decreases as the altitude increases)
– since gases have mass
• Atmospheric pressure also varies with temperature
• At sea level, average atmospheric pressure is about
1.013 × 105 Pa
Altitude (km)
25
Altitude – Atmospheric Pressure

20
(0.07; 18.3)
15

10
(0.32; 8.8)
5

0
(1.01; 0.0)
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Atmospheric Pressure (× 105 Pa)
Absolute Pressure (within a Fluid)
• Surface of the fluid is subjected to the atmospheric
pressure: P = Patm (as it is exposed to the atmosphere)
• Any point within a fluid experiences pressure due to the
fluid itself, in addition to the atmospheric pressure.
Pressure at any point within a fluid, due to the fluid, is
known as the gauge pressure, Pgauge
• Total pressure at any point within the fluid is known as
the absolute pressure, Pabs; and is the sum of
atmospheric pressure and gauge pressure:
Pabs = Patm + Pgauge
Gauge pressure
• Gauge pressure increases
with the depth of a fluid
• Also depends on density
of the fluid h
• Pgauge = ρfluidgh ; it is due
to the weight of fluid above
level h, where h is the depth
of the fluid below the surface
e.g. 3 At what depth, within pure water, is
pressure three times the atmospheric pressure?
(Soln. Homework)
e.g. 4 A plastic tube, cross-sectional area = 4.0 cm2, is
filled with water, through the long arm. The short
arm has a height, h = 0.85 m, and
sealed at the top. The seal will pop
off when the force on it exceeds
12.9 N. What is the total height of
water in the long arm that will h
make the seal to pop off?
When unsealed, water levels in the arms will be
equal; thus, in that case: Pabs(A) = Pabs(B).
When A is sealed, the right arm experiences
additional pressure, as more water is poured
into the left arm. This additional pressure is
equal to force per area on
the sealer. In this case,
additional pressure is due to
h’ A
B
the gauge pressure above level
B (i.e. h’) in the left arm. h
This leads to:
Pgauge (above level B) = (ρwater)gh’= F/A …(i)
Where F = 12.9, N is force that can make
the seal to pop off (= force due to water
above level B); A = 4.0 × 10-4 m2; and h’
is the height of water above level B in the
left arm.

Therefore, h’ = F/(ρwaterAg)
Floating object
• Objects can float (or, can be buoyant) within fluids (a kite
in air and plastic container in water)
• When an object floats (part of, or its entire volume, is
within the fluid) there is a vertically-up directed force ,
due to the fluid – Buoyant force)
• Heavier (i.e. more dense) objects sink deeper than
lighter objects with same volume:- level of the object
within a fluid depends on its density relative to the fluid’s
• Whenever an object is immersed within a fluid, it moves
over (or displaces) part of the fluid
 Floating object, displaced fluid and buoyant force

Container filled with a fluid Object floating in a fluid

and spilled fluid
FB
V(object within fluid) = V(spilled fluid) Fg
Free-body diagram
Archimedes’ principle

Whenever an object is partially or wholly immersed

within a fluid, the fluid exerts an upwardly directed force
upon the object, known as the buoyant force. Magnitude
of buoyant force is equal to that of the weight of the
fluid which is displaced by the immersed object.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05WkCPORlj4
Note
• When an object is within a fluid, its weight appears to
be less than its actual weight: The apparent weight
(weight that the object ‘appears’ to possess) of the
object, Wapp, is equal to the difference between the
actual weight of the object and the buoyant force
acting on it:
Wapp = Wact - FB
e.g. 5 When a 5.0 kg object is fully-submerged and
held stationary just below the water surface,
2.0 dm3 of water gets displaced. Upon being
released, how far does the object move in 1.7 s?
(Neglect drag forces that might affect the motion)
Data: m = 5.0 kg; Vdispl = 2.0 × 10-3 m3
For motion in the given time interval (t =
1.7 s), we have vA = 0.0 m.s-1. In addition, we
can determine acceleration, a, of motion using
the free-body diagram, where A
Fb is the buoyant force due Displaced water

to the water on the block Fb 1.7 s

and Fg is gravitational force. Δy = ?

Fg
B

Thus, a = (Fg – Fb) ÷ m … (i)

Where Fg = m × (9.8 m.s-2) = ;
and Fb = ρwater × Vdispl × (9.8 m.s-2) =

Using eqn. (i), aAB = … (ia)

For the 1.7 s interval of motion, distance

travelled by the object in 1.7 s is:
sAB = vAt + 0.5(aAB × t2)
e.g. 6 A 0.45 kg soccer ball floats in water. If the
diameter of the ball is 22 cm, determine
6.1 buoyant force on the ball, and
6.2 volume of water displaced by the ball.
6.3 What is the fraction of the ball within
water?
Data: mb = 0.45 kg;
db = 0.22 m.

6.1 The ball is in static

equilibrium; thus, FB = Fg = mb(9.8 m.s-2)

6.2 Based of Archimedes’ principle:

FB = ρwater × V(displ water) × g,
Where ρwater = 103 kg.m-3and g = 9.8 m.s-2
 Therefore, V(displ water) = FB/(ρwater × g)

6.3 V(displ water) = V(ball within water) … (i)

and Vball = (4/3)π(d/2)3… (ii)

But, fraction of the ball within water:

V(ball within water) ÷ Vball ≡ (i) ÷ (ii)
Pascal’s principle
For an incompressible fluid at rest in an enclosed
container, a pressure change at any part of the fluid
or an enclosure is transmitted without diminishing
to every portion of the fluid and the walls of the
enclosure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUR4rRBHbYQ&t=29s
e.g. 7 The hydraulic lift has a large cross section
and a small section, at the same level. Both
cross sections are circular, and the large cross
sectional area has a radius that is five times
that of the smaller area. Suppose that an
input force of 32 N is applied on a small cross
sectional area, what is the output force on the
larger area?
F1
Data
A1 A2
F1 = 32 N … (i)
r2 = 5r1 … (ii)
F2 = ?

Pascal’s: F1/A1 = F2/A2 , where Ai = πri2

F2 = (F1 × A2)/A1 = F1(r2/r1)2 = F1 × 52 =