CHAPTER 2

PRESSURE IN A
STATIC FLUID
Recap: Pressure
The compressive force acting on a surface
immersed in a fluid is expressed as a force
per unit area and is termed pressure.
Thus, pressure is measured as force per
unit area, and its units are N/m
2.

It is given the name Pascal (Pa).
Typical atmospheric pressure is about 10
5

Pa.
Variation of Pressure in
Vertical Direction
z
pA
A z
z
p
p o o
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
gzA
Force balance in vertical
direction gives:
g
z
p
A z g A z
z
p

o o o o
=
c
c
=
c
c

or,
, 0
Since p does not vary in x
and y directions,
g
dz
dp
=
Variation of Pressure
in Horizontal Direction
x
pA
A x
x
p
p o o
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
Horizontal force balance will give
0 =
c
c
x
p
Therefore, pressure does not change in
a horizontal plane.


gh p gz p p
z p p
const gz p
g
dz
dp

+ = =
= =
+ =
=
0 0
0
so,
, 0 at
. or,

(Pa) 10 8 . 9 10
); m ( ) (m/s 8 . 9 ) (kg/m 10 (Pa) 10
3 5
2 3 3 5
h p
h gh p p
atm
+ =
+ = + =
Hydrostatic Pressure Variation
h
z

For water with a free surface
exposed to atmosphere
Example
What is the pressure at a depth of 10
m in water?
What is the pressure at a depth of 10
m in mercury?
What is the pressure at a depth of 1
km in water?
A Liquid Maintains its Level
1
2
3
h
1

p
3
= p
atm
+gh
1
or, p
3, gauge
= gh
1

4
h
2

p
4
= p
atm
+gh
2
or, p
4, gauge
= gh
2

p
3
= p
4
A Liquid Maintains its Level
BAROMETER
PRINCIPLE OF BAROMETER
The mercury barometer was first discovered by
the Italian Scientist Torricelli in 1643 and has been
since then known as the Torricelli barometer.

This barometer works by the level of the mercury
in the glass being balanced with the amount of
pressure in the atmosphere.

Under normal circumstances, the column of
mercury in the glass tube stands at a height of
about 30 (29.92) inches (75 centimeters) when
measured at sea level.

WHY MERCURY?
Mercury is used because of it's very high
density, it is 13.6 times as dense as water. The
atmosphere on average holds up about 76cm
of mercury in a barometer... A sensible size. If
you used water, it would have to be 76 x 13.6
cm at least in height.


Mercury doesn't evaporate very much. A
water barometer would constantly need
refilling.

CAPILLARITY ACTION
It is the rise or fall of a liquid against gravity in
a narrow space such as a thin tube or in
porous materials such as paper.

This phenomenon is due to combined effect of
cohesion and adhesion of liquid particles.
Capillary Action
Capillary Action
g h r r t o t
2
2 =
rg
h

o 2
=
For water ( = 7.2X10
-2
N/m),
r = 0.5 mm, the capillary rise
is 29 mm
h
CAPILLARY
Capillary Action
Capillary Action
Figure 1a. The pool of red colored water
on this countertop is held together by
surface tension and cohesion between
the water droplets.
Figure 1b. Capillary action causes
the water to "climb" up this paper
towel.
MANOMETERS
MECHANICAL GAUGES


PRESSURE MEASUREMENT

Simple Manometers
Piezometer
U-tube Manometer

Differential Manometers



MANOMETERS
PIEZOMETER
LIMITATIONS OF
PIEZOMETER

1. Piezometers can measure gauge pressures
only. It is not suitable for measuring negative
pressures.

2. Piezometers cannot be employed when
large pressures in the lighter liquids are to be
measured since this would require very long
tubes, which cannot be handled conveniently.
U-TUBE MANOMETER
DIFFERENTIAL MANOMETER
A differential manometer is a device that
measures the difference in pressure between
two places.

Differential manometers are also used to
compare the pressure of two different
containers. They reveal both which container
has greater pressure and how large the
difference between the two is.


Inclined Tube Manometer
Inclined-tube manometer is used to measure
small pressure differences between two
systems .


The advantage of the inclined manometer is
that the differential reading scales along the
tube can be made large compared to a
vertical manometer for a given pressure
difference, hence improving the accuracy in
reading the scale.

Inclined-Tube Manometer
Pressure p
A
l

p
A
= gl sin
Reducing Errors in Manometry
Change in density of gauge fluid
Density of water changes by 0.75 % as the
temperature changes from 10
0
C to 40
0
C.
Density of mercury changes by 0.5 % as the
temperature changes from 10
0
C to 40
0
C.
Reducing Errors in Manometry
Capillary rise
rg
h

o 2
=

U-tube manometer with both legs of
same dia is helpful
Cleanliness. Degreasing.