SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING,

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, ISLAMABAD.

ME-337 Fluid Mechanics Lab Report

Name Registration # Section
Abdulrehman khan 414848 C

Lab No.02: Measurement of Buoyant Force and density

using a Hydrostatic balance.
Objective
This laboratory exercise aimed to gain an understanding of the Archimedes Principle and to
apply it practically by utilizing the hydrostatic balance apparatus.

Apparatus
• Hydrostatic Balance
• Water
• Beakers
• Weights
• Vernier Caliper

Hydrostatic Balance Hydrostatic Balance

1
Description
One of the two metal cylinders of the Hydrostatics balance is dipped in water which is stored in a
beaker. The needle at the center of the apparatus is used to indicate whether it is in equilibrium or not.
This apparatus is used to find the buoyant force acting on the metal cylinder due to the fluid placed in
the beaker with the help of some convenient formulas.

Procedure
The steps followed in executing this experiment are as follows:
1. We begin by placing the lever balance apparatus on a level table to ensure accurate
calibration, where the balance scale is equalized on both sides.
2. We ensured that the lever balance is in the center position by adjusting the adjustable
nut located at the side of the balance if necessary, so that the pointer is pointing at the
red line.
3. We took a small amount of liquid in the beaker that needs to have its density measured
and noted its initial volume.
4. We placed the beaker on one side of the balance and ensured that the metal cylinder is
partially submerged in the liquid to determine the upthrust accurately.
5. To balance the unit, we added a small amount of weight to the pan on the top of the
balance until the needle touched the red line again. This weight is the upthrust and
upthrust can be calculated by using the formula:
FB =W=mg where g = 9.81 ms-2
OR
FB = pVg = density × Volume displaced × gravitational acceleration
6. We recorded the volume reading from the beaker after the placement of weights.
7. We found the density using the following formulae:
Fthrust = ρliquidVdisplaced g
As Fthrust = Wapplied, we get:
ρliquid = Wapplied /(Vdisplaced )(g)
ρliquid = mapplied /Vdisplaced as W=mg
8. Then, we performed the above steps thrice using three different volumes of the liquid,
and then we determined the average density value.

2
Results and Calculations
1. Density Measurement:
Table 1

S# Height under Volume displaced (m3) Mass Applied Density (Kg/m3)

water (cm) (g)
1 1.8 5.089×10-5 95 1867.57
2 4.3 1.2157×10-4 120 987.49
3 5 1.4137×10-4 150 1061.57
The average density is:
(1867.57 + 987.49 + 1061.57) / 3= 1305.543 kg/m3
2. Buoyant Force:
Table 2

S# Density (Kg/m3) Volume displaced Buoyancy Force

(m3) (N)
1 1867.57 5.089×10-5 0.9319
2 987.49 1.2157×10-4 1.177
3 1061.57 1.4137×10-4 1.471

Graph
The graph between buoyant force and Volume displaced: -
0.00016
0.00014
0.00012
Volume Displaced

0.0001
0.00008
0.00006
0.00004
0.00002
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6
Buoyant Force

Graph 1

3
Specimen Calculation
For 95 g mass:
The base area of the cylinder is calculated as follows:
Base area = (π x 0.0062) / 4 = 0.002826 m2
The volume displaced is found by multiplying the base area by the height underwater:
Volume displaced = 0.018 x 0.002826 = 0.000050868 m3
The density is then calculated as mass divided by volume:
Density = 0.095 / 0.000050868 = 1867.57 kg/m3
The Buoyant force is calculated as follows: -
FB = PVg = 1867.57 × 0.000050868 × 9.81 = 0.9319N
The same calculations are done for 120 and 150 grams of weight.

Discussion
The experiment aimed to determine the density of an unknown fluid using the hydrostatic
balance and to verify the Archimedes Principle. The volume displaced and upthrust was
measured. There were many chances of error in this experiment. We faced shortness of time
while performing this experiment as our group was left with only 15 minutes to perform it. We
used water as the fluid for this experiment and our first result of density for 95g of weight came
out to be 1866.77kg/m3 which is almost twice the density of water. We were left with simply no
time to redo this calculation and went on to the next ones. The experiment was successful in
achieving its objectives and provided a deeper understanding of the principles involved in
determining the density of liquids.

Conclusion
This study successfully demonstrated the practical application of Archimedes' principle to
determine the density of a liquid using a hydrostatic balance. The experiment showed a clear
correlation between the upthrust and the volume displaced, which verified Archimedes'
principle. Overall, through this experiment, we gained knowledge about the Archimedes
Principle and were able to apply it practically to determine the density of water.