CIVL 162

Fluid Mechanics

Week 4
Buoyancy
 These Slides
• Review “Forces Due to Static Fluids”
– Calculate FR on a Floating object
• Define Buoyancy
• Solve Buoyancy Problems Reminder: Click the
speaker icon to hear me
• Examples all the way through talk about the
information on each
slide
 Review: Forces due to Static Fluids
•  any rectangular surface:
On
• Resultant Force:
• Average pressure:
When top is open: (and is the mean depth)
• = width of wall (w) x contact height (h for vertical walls, L for
inclines)
• is located at the centroid of
pressure prism
– triangle  h/3 only valid when L
 Review: Forces due to Static Fluids
• theory,
In   calculating Resultant Forces on faces of objects that
are submersed or floating in fluid is the same as calculating
resultant forces on any contact surface.

• Resultant Force on any side:

• is located at the centroid of

pressure prism
 Review: Forces due to Static Fluids
Example
The cube shown is in equilibrium. It’s side lengths are
all 1 m and is floating in water with the bottom 0.2 m
immersed.
a) What is the fluid force acting on the cube?
b) What is the weight of the cube?
 Review: Forces due to Static Fluids
•  
Given: l = 1 m
h = 0.2 m
water = 9.81 kN/m3
pressure prisms in orange
 𝐹 𝑅  𝐹 𝑅
𝑟𝑖𝑔h𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒
Find: FR on cube 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒

Use:

 𝐹 𝑅 𝑏𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚

Solve:

The resultant force is 1.962 kN, acting UP on the center of the cube.
 Review: Forces due to Static Fluids
•  
Given:
Find:
[UP]
W of cube
FBD:
W

Use: Equilibrium Fy = 0

Solve: Fy = 0

 𝑭 𝑹 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒎

The weight of the block is 1.962 kN.

 Buoyancy
• Objects that are submerged or partially submerged in a fluid
experience hydrostatic (fluid) pressures acting on all surfaces in
contact with the fluid.
• The forces acting on the sides tend to cancel each other out,
being equal and opposite.
• The magnitude of the pressure increases with depth though,
leading to larger hydrostatic forces on the bottom surface
pushing an object up than hydrostatic forces on the top surface,
pushing the object down.
 Buoyancy
• The unbalanced vertical resultant  𝑭 𝑹
𝒕𝒐𝒑

fluid forces lead to a net, upward

hydrostatic force acting on the object
called Buoyancy.
• Buoyancy is defined as the tendency
of a fluid to exert a supporting force
on a body that is floating or
 𝑭 𝑹
submerged in the fluid. 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒎

• Also referred to as the Archimedes Principle

 Buoyancy
• Adding together all of the distributed forces acting on
the surfaces of the object is tedious, but there is a faster
way to get the net buoyancy force acting on an object.
• The buoyant force is equal to the weight of the fluid
displaced by the body.
• The buoyancy force acts vertically upward through the
centroid of the displaced volume.
 Buoyancy
A body in a fluid, whether floating or submerged, is buoyed
up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced.
 Weight of fluid: ,
F b = γ fVd but we want volume and , so
and , so…

Fb = buoyancy force
γf = specific weight of fluid
Vd = displaced volume of fluid
 Buoyancy
Fbuoyant=Fup−Fdown
Fbuoyant=PbottomA−PtopA
Fbuoyant=(𝛾hbottom)A−(𝛾htop)A
Fbuoyant=𝛾A(hbottom−htop)
Fbuoyant=𝛾Ahcan
Fbuoyant=𝛾Vcan

Khan Academy. (n.d.) What is buoyant force? Retrieved from: https://

www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/fluids/buoyant-force-and-archimedes-principle/a/buoyant-fo
rce-and-archimedes-principle-article
on February 22, 2018.
 Buoyancy
Example:

Calculate the buoyancy force acting on the

(1 m x 1m x 1m) floating cube, that has the bottom 0.2
m immersed in water.
 Buoyancy
l=1m
Given: l = 1 m
h = 0.2 m
water = 9.81 kN/m3
Find: Fb
h = 0.2 m
Use: Fb = γfVd
Vd = l x l x h
Solve: Fb = γfVd = γf (l x l x h)
Fb = (9.81 kN/m3)(1 m)2(0.2 m)
Fb = 1.962 kN
The buoyancy force is 1.962 kN, acting UP on the center of the cube.

Notice this buoyancy force is the same as the resultant force that we calculated
 Buoyancy
When solving buoyancy problems remember:
• Buoyancy Force: Fbuoyancy = γfluidVdisplaced fluid
– Acts through the Centre of Buoyancy which is at the centroid of
the volume of fluid that has been displaced
• Object Weight: W = mobjectg = ρobjectVobjectg = γobjectVobject
– Acts through Object’s Center of Gravity
• If W < Fb (with object submerged) it will float (γobject < γfluid)
• If W > Fb (with object submerged) it will sink (γobject > γfluid)
• NEUTRAL BUOYANCY when γobject = γfluid (because W = Fb)
 Buoyancy
 Process for Setting up Buoyancy Problems:
• SAME as ALL Problems (see “Problem Solving Skills” slides)
• Specify what quantity you are looking for
• Draw a good diagram (in these cases a FBD), make sure you draw
ALL of the forces acting on all the objects
• Write down all the given information (including specific weights)
• State the equations you will use (in these cases include )
• Solve (watch for signs and units)
• Clearly answer the original question
 Buoyancy
Example (5-2):

A 1.0 m diameter hollow sphere

weighing 200 N is attached to a solid
concrete block weighing 4.1 kN. If the
concrete has a specific weight of 23.6
kN/m3, will the two objects together
float or sink in water?
 Buoyancy
Given: dsphere = 1 m (r = 0.5m) Fb - sphere

Wsphere = 200 N = 0.200 kN

Wconcrete = 4.1 kN FBD:
concrete = 23.6 kN/m3 Wsphere
fluid = water = 9.81 kN/m3
Fb - concrete
Find: Will they sink or float?
• If W < Fb it will float
• If W > Fb it will sink Wconcrete

Need to find W and compare it to Fb

 Buoyancy
Fb - sphere
 Use: Fb = γfVd
(textbook Appendix M)
W = γobjectVobject (definition of )
Wsphere

Fb - concrete
Solve: W = Wsphere +Wconcrete
W = 0.200 kN + 4.1 kN = 4.3 kN
Wconcrete
 Buoyancy
 Solve: Fb = Fb - sphere + Fb - concrete Fb - sphere
Fb = γwaterVsphere + γwaterVconcrete

Fb = 9.81 kN/m3 (0.5236 m3 + 0.1737 m3) Wsphere

Fb = 6.841 kN

Fb - concrete
Fb > W (6.841 kN > 4.3 kN)

 Since the total buoyancy force is greater than the total Wconcrete
weight, the objects will float. They will be in equilibrium
when a portion of the sphere is above the water.
 Buoyancy
Example (5-26):
For the composite cylinder
shown, what thickness of brass
is required to cause the cylinder
to float in the position shown in
carbon tetrachloride?
 Stability
A body in a fluid is considered stable if it will return to its original
position after being rotated a small amount.
Depends on the relative locations
of the center of gravity and
center of buoyancy
 Buoyancy: Resource
Extra Resources for Buoyancy
1. Textbook Chapter 5 (Introduction to Section 5.2)

If you are looking for Extra Resources (not mandatory!):

2. Khan Academy. (n.d.) What is buoyant force? Retrieved from: https://
www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/fluids/buoyant-force-and-archime
des-principle/a/buoyant-force-and-archimedes-principle-article
.
very good
3. Professor Dave Explains. (2017, March 22). Fluids, Buoyancy, and
Archimedes’ Principle [Video file]. Retrieved from https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=16HDJNoXQII
Pretty simple
 Wrap-Up
After this lesson you should be able to: use the definition of buoyancy and
equilibrium to calculate the buoyancy force (and/or other required dimensions)
acting on objects.
• Read the sections of the textbook posted in the Weekly Summary on
Blackboard
• Try to textbook questions (also posted in Weekly Summary)
• Use the Weekly Discussion Boards to Ask Questions
• “Attend” the Blackboard Collaborate Q&A (Thursday at 11:40 a.m. and/or
1:30 pm ) if you have questions
• Do QUIZ #4 by Sunday night
• Do the “Buoyancy Lab” by Monday