CHE 413

FLUID MECHANICS
FOR CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

CHAPTER 2
FLUID STATICS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Define and derive the Pascal’s law.
 Distinguish between gauge, absolute and atmospheric
pressure.
 Calculate the fluid pressure under different condition.
PRESSURE
 Pressure is defined as a normal force exerted by a
fluid per unit area.
 Units of pressure are N/m2, which is called a Pascal
(Pa).
 Since the unit Pa is too small for pressures
encountered in practice, kilopascal (1 kPa = 103 Pa)
and megapascal (1 MPa = 106 Pa) are commonly used.
 Other units include bar, atm, kg/cm2, lbf/in2=psi.
 px δy δz

px δy δz
CHANGE OF PRESSURE IN VERTICAL
DIRECTION
PRESSURE IN HORIZONTAL DIRECTION
 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

 Defined as the force per unit area exerted against a

surface by the weight of air above that surface at any
given point in the Earth's atmosphere
 Important to measure the atmospheric pressure as it
affects the measurement of pressure in fluids
 Atmospheric pressure is taken as 1 bar = 100kPa
 ABSOLUTE PRESSURE
 Actual pressure at a given point.

 Total pressure exerted on a system.

 Pabs = ρgh + Patm

 Always positive
 GAUGE PRESSURE

 Pressure at a given point → Pgauge = ρgh

 Gauge pressure, Pgauge=Pabs – Patm

 Can be either negative or positive

 Negative gauge pressure is known as a vacuum

 Pressure below atmospheric pressure are called

vacuum pressure, Pvac=Patm - Pabs
 EXERCISE 1:

Determine the gauge & absolute pressure at a depth

of 10 m in a tank filled with water. The atmospheric
pressure is 100 kN/m2 .

Solution:
Pgauge = ρgh = 1000 x 9.81 x 10
= 98.1 kN/m2
Pabs = ρgh + Patm = 98.1 +100 = 198.1 kN/m2
= 198.1 kPa
 PRESSURE HEAD
 The gauge pressure at any point in a static liquid of
constant density can be measured by the depth, h, of a
column of the fluid that would produce the pressure
p = ρgh
 The pressure head is given by:

h = p/ρg
 Unit for h is m, mm or cm

 Pressure head should be stated with the density of the

fluid given
 EXERCISE 2:

Determine the pressure at a point in a liquid if the

head is 60mm of mercury. (SGmercury = 13.6)

Solution:
p = ρgh
= 13600 x 9.81 x 0.06 = 8005 Pa
= 8.005 kPa
 EXERCISE 3:

A container is filled with oil of specific gravity 0.85.

Determine the pressure at a depth of 2.5m. What is
the head in m of water?

Solution:
P = ρoil gh = (0.85 x 1000) x 9.81 x 2.5
= 20850 Pa = 20.85kPa

The head in mm of water is given by:

h = p/ρwg
= 20850/(1000x9.81) = 2.125 m of water
Measurement of Pressure: Barometers
• Fluid pressures can be determined by various means and devices
depending on the types of fluid
• Common devices used are barometers & manometers.

The first mercury barometer was constructed in

1643-1644 by Torricelli. He showed that the
height of mercury in a column was 1/14 that of a
water barometer, due to the fact that mercury is
14 times more dense that water. He also noticed
that level of mercury varied from day to day due
to weather changes, and that at the top of the
column there is a vacuum. Evangelista
Torricelli (1608-
1647)
Measurement of Pressure: Manometer

 Manometry is a standard technique for measuring

pressure using liquid columns in vertical or incline
tubes. The devices used in this manner are known as
manometers.
 The relationship between pressure and head is used to
measure pressure with a manometer.

Three types of manometers:

1)The Piezometer Tube
2)The U-Tube Manometer
3)The Inclined Tube Manometer
 1.THE PIEZOMETER TUBE
• Used to measure the pressure of
liquids in containers which are under
pressure
• Consists of a tube attached to the wall
of the container
• Due to the pressure in the liquid
(higher than Patm), the liquid would
rise up in the tube
• The height to which the liquid rises
will give the head in the liquid and can
be converted to pressure

Disadvantages:
1. Can only be used for liquids

2. Pressure must above atmospheric

3. Liquid height must be convenient

- not too small or too large

 EXERCISE 4:
What is the maximum gauge pressure of water that can be
measured by a Piezometer of height 1.5m?
And if the liquid had a relative density of 8.5 what would the
maximum measurable gauge pressure?

Solutions
The maximum measurable pressure is when the tube
is completely full (h=1.5m). Any higher and the tube will overflow.

pgauge = ρgh
ρ = ρwater x relative density

p = (8.5 x 1000) x 9.81 x 1.5

p = 12 508 N/m2 (or Pa)
p = 12.5 kN/m2 (or kPa)
2. U-TUBE MANOMETER
2. U-TUBE MANOMETER (CONT.)
 CHOICE OF U-TUBE MANOMETER
Advantages of manometers:
 They are very simple.
 No calibration is required - the pressure can be calculated from first
principles

Disadvantages of manometers:
 Slow response - only really useful for very slowly varying pressures - no use
at all for fluctuating pressures.
 For the U-tube manometer two measurements must be taken simultaneously
to get the h value. This may be avoided by using a tube with a much larger
cross-sectional area on one side of the manometer than the other.
 In the U-tube manometer, the application of pressure causes the liquid in one
tube to go down while hat in the other tube goes up, so there is no fixed
reference. This tends to make the measurement of the height more difficult
and it would be if one surface could be maintained at some fixed level.
 It is often difficult to measure small variations in pressure, a different
manometric fluid may be required - alternatively a sloping manometer may
be employed. It cannot be used for very large pressures unless several
manometers are connected in series.
 EXERCISE 5:
Using a u-tube manometer to measure gauge pressure of fluid density ρ = 700 kg/m3,
and the manometric fluid is mercury, with a relative density of 13.6.
What is the gauge pressure if:
a) h1 = 0.4m and h2 = 0.9m?
b) h1 stayed the same but h2 = -0.1m?
Solution:
pB = pC
pB = pA + ρgh1
pB = pAtmospheric + ρ man gh2
We are measuring gauge pressure so patmospheric = 0
pA = ρ man gh2 - ρ gh1
a) pA = 13.6 x 103 x 9.81 x 0.9 - 700 x 9.81 x 0.4
= 117 327 N/m2, 117.3 kN/m2 (1.17 bar)
b) pA = 13.6 x 103 x 9.81 x (-0.1) - 700 x 9.81 x 0.4
= -16 088.4 N/m2, -16 kN/m2 (-0.16 bar)
The negative sign indicates that the pressure is below atmospheric
PRESSURE DIFFERENCE MEASUREMENT
USING A U-TUBE MANOMETER

-
 EXERCISE 6:
In the figure below two pipes containing the same fluid of density ρ= 990
kg/m3 are connected using a u-tube manometer.
What is the pressure between the two pipes if the manometer contains fluid
of relative density 13.6?

Solution:
pC = pD
pC = pA + ρg hA
pD = pB + ρg (hB - h) + ρman g h
pA - pB = ρg (hB - hA) + hg(ρman - ρ)
= 990 x9.81x(0.75-1.5) + 0.5x9.81 x(13.6-0.99) x 103
= -7284 + 61852
= 54 568 N/m2 (or Pa or 0.55 bar)
 INCLINED MANOMETER
This type of manometer is used to measure small pressure changes