Bouyancy

WEEK 4
 Bouyancy
Buoyancy is the ability of an object to float in a liquid. The
relationship between the OBJECT'S WEIGHT to the WEIGHT OF THE
WATER displaced is what determines if the object will float. When a
solid e.g. heavy ball is dropped in water, the water pushes up on it
with a FORCE equal to the WEIGHT OF WATER IT DISPLACED, if the
ball weighs less than the amount of water it displaced it will float. If
the ball weighs more than the amount of water it displaced it will
sink.
Bouyancy
 Bouyancy
A beach ball, meanwhile, displaces very little water, but
the air inside is much lighter than the weight of the water
that was displaced. The buoyant force from below keeps
the beach ball afloat. If you were to try to push the beach
ball down into the water, the push back that you would
feel is the buoyant force of the water at work. Objects
that displace an amount of liquid equal to their weight
will float because they receive that upward push from the
water. When an object is submerged in water, it moves, or
displaces, water according to how much it weighs. How
much water is displaced is also determined by the density
of the object.
 Bouyancy
ARCHIMEDES' PRINCIPLE
Archimedes' principle states the following;

• Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is KEPT

AFLOAT by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by
the object.

• When a body is partly or totally immersed in a fluid there is an

UPTHRUST that is equal to the weight of fluid displaced.

For a sunken object the volume of displaced fluid is the volume of

the object. For a floating object on a liquid, the weight of the
displaced liquid is the weight of the object.
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thus: Buoyancy = weight of displaced fluid.

In simple terms, the principle states that the buoyancy

force on an object is equal to the weight of the fluid
displaced by the object, or the density of the fluid
multiplied by the submerged volume times the
gravitational acceleration, g.
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STABILITY OF FLOATING BODIES

• The force of buoyancy BF is equal to the weight of the body W

• Centre of gravity G is above the center of buoyancy Bo in the
same vertical line.
• The figure may undergo a small angular displacement Ɵ with
respect to the vertical axis.
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• The centre of gravity G generally remains unchanged relative to
the body.
• During movement, the volume immersed on the right or left
hand side may increases or decrease. Therefore the center of
buoyancy moves towards the right or left to its new position
Bo’.
Any floating body is subjected to two opposing vertical forces.
One is the body's weight W which is downward, and the other is
the buoyant force BF which is upward. The weight is acting at the
center of gravity G and the buoyant force is acting at the center
of buoyancy Bo. W and BF are always equal and if these forces
are collinear, the body will be in upright position as shown above.
 Bouyancy
The body may tilt from many causes like wind or wave action causing
the center of buoyancy to shift to a new position Bo’ as shown below.
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Point is the intersection of the axis of the body and the line of
action of the buoyant force, it is called metacenter. If M is above G,
BF and W will produce a righting moment RM which causes the
body to return to its neutral position, thus the body is stable. If M
is below G, the body becomes unstable because of the overturning
moment OM made by W and BF. If M coincides with G, the body is
said to be just stable which simply means critical. The value of
righting moment or overturning moment is given by
RM or OM = Wx = W(MG.sinƟ)
The distance is called metacentric height.
Metacentric height, MG = MBo + GBo
Use (-) if G is above BO and (+) if G is below BO. Note that M is
always above BO.
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Hence the condition of stable equilibrium for a floating body can
be expressed in terms of metacentric height as follows:

GM > 0 (M is above G) Stable equilibrium

GM = 0 (M coinciding with G) Neutral equilibrium
GM < 0 (M is below G) Unstable equilibrium
 Bouyancy
Example 1
Suppose a rock's weight is measured as 10 newtons when
suspended by a string in a vacuum with gravity acting upon it.
Suppose that when the rock is lowered into water, it displaces
water of weight 3 newtons. The force it then exerts on the string
from which it hangs would be 10 newtons minus the 3 newtons of
buoyancy force: 10 − 3 = 7 newtons. Buoyancy reduces the
apparent weight of objects that have sunk completely to the sea
floor. It is generally easier to lift an object up through the water
than it is to pull it out of the water.
 Bouyancy
Example 2
Find the volume of the water displaced and the position of Center of
Buoyancy for a wooden block of width 2.0m and depth 1.5m when it
floats horizontally in water.
Density of wooden block is 650kg/m3 and its length is 4.0m.
 
Solution
Volume of the block, V = 12m3
Weight of the block, ρgV= 76518N
Volume of water displaced = 76,518 / (1000×9.81) = 7.8m3
Depth of immersion, h =7.8 / (2×4) = 0.975m.
The Center of Buoyancy is at 0.4875m from the base
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Example 3
A block of steel (specific gravity= 7.85) floats at the mercury-water
interface as shown in figure. What is the ratio (a / b) for this
condition?
(Specific gravity of Mercury = 13.57)
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Solution
Let A = Cross sectional area of the block
Weight of the body = Total buoyancy forces

A(a+b)×7850×g
=A(b ×13.57 +a) ×g ×1000
7.85 (a+b) = 13.57 ×b + a
(a / b) = 0.835