January-April 2018; A. W.

Jayawardena
 Introduction
 DEFINITIONS

 Fluid statics refer to the mechanics of a fluid at rest.

 The main concerns in fluid statics are
pressure variation in a fluid at rest
Forces on various objects immersed in a fluid

 Forces include body forces and surface forces.

 Body forces are forces developed without physical contact
and distributed over the volume of the fluid. e.g.
gravitational and electromagnetic forces.
 Surface forces are forces acting on the boundaries of a fluid
through direct contact. e.g. shear forces and normal forces.

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Introduction
 In a fluid at rest, there are no shear forces. The only
surface force is therefore the pressure force. Pressure is a
scalar quantity and in general varies from point to point:
p = p (x, y, z)

When pressure acts upon an area it gives rise to a

pressure force.
 
F  A
pdA
 Area is a vector quantity and the area vector points in a
direction normal to the area and its magnitude is equal
to the magnitude of the area.
 Pressure force is a vector, and is considered positive when
acting inwards, i.e. producing a compressive stress.

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Pressures and forces on a fluid element

p
p yy p x
x

x
Fig. 1: Definition sketch for pressures and forces acting on a fluid element

p
x –direction: pdydz -  p dx  dydz + dxdydzBx = 0
x
p
y – direction: pdzdx -  p dy  dzdx + dxdydzBy = 0
y
p
z – direction: pdxdy -  p dz  dxdy + dxdydzBz = 0
z

where Bx, By and Bz are the body forces per unit mass is the 3 directions

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Pressures and forces on a fluid element
p
  Bx  0 (2a)
x

p
  B y  0 (2b)
y

p
  Bz  0 (2c)
z

i.e.
{Pressure forces per {body forces per
unit volume at a + unit volume at a =0
point} point}

 In a fluid system at rest, Bx = 0, By = 0, and, Bz = -g(negative because z is measured

positive upwards). Therefore,
p
 0 (3a)
x
p
 0 (3b)
y
p
  g (3c)
z

 i.e. p = p(z) only, and x and y have no effect. We may write the total derivative
instead of partial derivative.

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Pressure
 Pressure variation in a fluid at rest
 Incompressible fluid (ρ = constant = ρ0 )

dp
 o g  constant
dz

 dp    zo  o g dz
p z
po

p – p0 = - 0g(z – z0) (6)

p  po   o gh (7)
This is a basic equation used for pressure variation calculation. The
following rules are useful:
Any 2 points at the same elevation in a continuous length of the same liquid
will be at the same pressure
Pressure increases along the depth downwards

Similar expressions can be derived for compressible fluids

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Pressure
 Standard atmosphere
Temperature 288oK (15oC)
Pressure 101.3 kPa (abs) or
1013 mb
Density 1.225kg/m3
Viscosity, 1.781 x 10-5 kg/m.sec.
 Absolute and gauge pressure
 Absolute pressure is the pressure above a vacuum
whereas gauge pressure is the pressure above a reference
pressure, usually taken to be atmospheric pressure.

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Pressure hv

 Measurement of pressure
 Absolute pressure is measured by a barometer.
R

patmosphere  gh  pvapour (15

 Manometry – A device to measure pressure A

 Simple (open) manometers

 Differential manometers
The common fluids used in manometers are mercury,
water and benzene. In the choice of a manometric
fluid, the vapour pressure is important. Mercury
has a very low vapour pressure compared to water
or benzene. There is a significant difference
between the heights of a barometer with mercury
and water.

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 h

A A A Simple (open) manometers

h1
h
h2

r2 or S2

B
r1 or S1
h2
r3 or S3
r1 or S1 A h3
h1 h3
A
h1
h2
B
Inclined Manometer
r3 or S3 r2 or S2

Differential manometers

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Hydrostatic forces on a plane surface
 Ship lock in a canal

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Hydrostatic forces on a plane surface
 Ship lock in a canal

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Hydrostatic forces on a plane surface
 Ship lock in a canal

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

Hydrostatic forces on a plane surface

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Hydrostatic forces on a plane surface
 Flat plane area: A flat surface has the same pressure
intensity at every point.

F
h

 The total (resultant) force = ρghA, and is equal and

opposite in direction because the pressure is the same
at the top and bottom surfaces.

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Hydrostatic forces on a plane surface

 Plane area inclined at an angle

 The pressure force is distributed and its magnitude and
direction may change from point to point on the surface.
 The resultant force (acting normal to the plane area) is
the product of the pressure intensity at the centroid and
the surface area A

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Hydrostatic forces on an inclined
plane surface
O

h
dF

p = gh
y x

surface A
(Edge view) dA
dy
y (Normal view)

dF = p dA

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

Hydrostatic forces on an inclined plane
surface
 Referring to Figure,
dF = pdA
= hgdA =  hdA
=   y sin   dA
 Therefore,
F   ySindA Sin  ydA
 But  ydA= First moment of area about O (x-axis)= Ayc,
A
where yc is the distance from O to the centroid of
surface.  xc  1  xdA; yc  1  .ydA  Therefore,
 AA AA 
F  Sinyc A  hc A  pA
where hc  yc Sin and, p is the pressure at the centroid

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

Hydrostatic forces on an inclined plane
surface
 Line of action of the resultant force: The force F is not
applied at the centroid but at a point below the center of
gravity (CG). The distance ycp is given (center of
pressure) as

h = y (sin90)
ycp

g h

F = g h A

Fig. 7: Line of action of pressure force

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Centre of pressure
Fycp   ydF    y 2 sin  dA
A
A

 sin  dA
  dA
2 2
y y
Therefore, ycp   y sin  dA  ydA
 
 dA is the second moment of area about O (x-
2
y
axis). It can be expressed as

  
2 2
y dA I CG y A
where ICG is the moment of area about the centre of
gravity (CG). Therefore,
I CG  yc2 A I CG yc2 A
I CG yc2 A I CG
ycp        yc
 y dA  ydA  ydA yc A yc A yc A
January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena
 Centre of pressure
 Similarly, the x-co-ordinate of the centre of pressure can
be found by taking moments about the y- axis:

1 I xy I xy ,c
xcp  
Ay A
xydA 
Ay
 xc 
Ay

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

ICG for some plane surfaces are given below:

y y s

h C x x C h
C x
h/3
b
b/3
b

bh 3
bh 3
I cg 
I cg  36
12
bh 2
I xy ,c 0 I xy ,c  b  2 s 
72

y
y

C x
r r C x

4r
3

r 4 I cg  0.1098r 4
I cg 
4
I xy ,c  0
I xy ,c 0
January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena
 Magnitude and direction of resultant
force
 The magnitude of the resultant hydrostatic thrust is
given by the pressure at the centroid of the surface but
the line of action is not there.

hc

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Magnitude and direction of resultant
force
 The hydrostatic thrust is the equivalent line force to
the distributed pressure force.

hc = yc
(vertical surface)
y’  yc
ghc

F = ghc A

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Summary
 The magnitude of the resultant hydrostatic thrust on a
plane surface is given by the product of the area of the
surface and the pressure at the centroid of the surface.
 The resultant thrust acts at the centre of pressure (xcp,ycp) of
the surface and the centre of pressure is below the centroid
by a distance Ixx/Ayc along the y direction.

F  ghc  A hc = yc ycp
ghc
I cc F = ghc A
ycp  yc 
Ayc 1 I xy I xy ,c
xcp 
Ayc  A
xydA 
Ayc
 xc 
Ayc
January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena
 Forces on curved surfaces
 On curved surfaces, the resultant force can be resolved
into two components, one horizontal which is the
component of force exerted on a projection of the
curved surface in a vertical plane, and the other a
vertical which is the weight of fluid directly above the
surface and is applied at the centroid of the fluid.

 The main difference between plane and curved

surfaces is that in a curved surface the directions of the
normal forces differ from point to point because of the
curvature.

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Forces on curved surfaces

h1 F1
P O O, R
P
R Fx W FH

Q Q
Fz

Fig. 8: Forces on curved surfaces

Q

 In x-direction, Fx = FH (both in magnitude and line of action)

 In z-direction, Fz = F1 + W (W is the weight of liquid inside OPQR
and F1 = gh1(area of OPR) = g(volume above OPR)
 Thus, Fz = weight of liquid above the curved surface PQR below the
free surface.
 In general,
dF = pdA  F =  pdA

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Forces on curved surfaces
Because the curved surface is 3-dimensional,
F = iFx + jFy + kFz

and

Fx =  pdAx

Fy =  pdAy

Fz =  pdAz

where

dAx - projection of dA on yz plane = dAcosx

dAy - projection of dA on zx plane = dAcosy

dAz - projection of dA on xy plane = dAcosz

where x, y, z are angles between dA and x-axis, y-axis and z-axis respectively.

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Forces on curved surfaces
These equations indicate that the 3 components must be evaluated separately by
integration. For the vertical component,

zo
dFz = pdAz ; p = 
zs
gdz

where zs - z-co-ordinate of the surface

zo – z–co-ordinate of free surface

zo
Then, dFz = zs
gdz dAz

zo
and Fz =  
Az zs
gdzdAz

 The horizontal component in a given direction on a curved surface is equal to the

force on the projection of the surface on a vertical plane perpendicular to the given
direction.
 The line of action is the same as that of the force on the vertical projection.
 The vertical component equals to the weight of the fluid extending above that
surface to the free surface.
 The vertical component equals to the weight of the fluid extending above that
surface to the free surface.
January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena
Buoyancy and stability

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Buoyancy and stability
 Buoyancy is the force (only vertical) acting on a body
floating on a liquid surface due to liquid pressure. There is
no horizontal thrust since pressures are equal at same
horizontal level.
 Buoyancy force is equal to the weight of the liquid
displaced by the object. This is "Archimedes' principle"
(220 BC) – The word ‘Eureka’ is synonymous with
Archimedes' principle.
 The location of the line of action of the buoyancy force
determines stability. The centre of buoyancy is the
centroid of the displaced fluid .
 Hydrometer, an instrument to measure the specific
gravities of liquids, uses the principle of buoyancy.
Immersed in a liquid of known specific gravity (distilled
water with specific gravity 1), it can be calibrated to give
specific gravity readings of any other liquid.
January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena
 Metacentre
 The center of buoyancy changes when the body is
displaced. In the new position, it is at B'. Where a
vertical line through B' intersects the line through BG
is called the Matacentre, M. When M is above the
centre of gravity (CG) the body is stable. When M is
below CG, the body is unstable

 The distance GM is called the Metacentric Height. It

should be positive for stability and negative for
instability. The relative position of M and CG
determine the stability of the body.

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Stability
M

W
G G
B B'
B

Fb=W
W=Fb

a. Equilibrium condition b. Disturbed condition

Center of buoyancy (B) and metacenter (M)

G
G M
G
B M
B' W
B
B B'
B'
W
W Fb Fb
Fb

a. Stable b. Unstable c. Neutral

Conditions of equilibrium

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Fluids in rigid body motion
 Rigid body motion does not induce shear stresses.
 It retains its shape because the fluid does not deform.
 For rigid body motion Newton’s second law of motion
gives the resulting pressure field.
 Examples include a liquid inside a container
undergoing linear acceleration and a liquid in a
rotating container.

Stationary or moving at fixed speed Accelerating

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Fluids in rigid body motion
 Linear acceleration of a fluid in a container -
Consider a liquid inside a container which moves with a
constant acceleration ax in the x direction and az in the z-
direction. All liquid particles are undergoing the same
acceleration. Applying the fluid element analysis, the pressure
at a point p = p(x,y,z) will have a gradient along the x direction.

p p  px x

z ax x x+x
ax
x

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Fluids in rigid body motion
• Linear acceleration of a fluid in a container
p
p  (yz )  ( p  x
x )  (yz )   (xyz )  a x
F  ma  p
  a x
x
p p
Also    ( g  a z ) , and  0
z y
The total differential of p = p(x,y,z) is:
p p p
dp  dx  dy  dz   a x dx   ( g  a z )dz
x y z
Along lines of constant pressure, the differential is zero: dp = 0 and thus:
dz a
 x
dx az  g
The free surface is a line of constant pressure (p = patm) and it is sloping backwards
at an angle   tan 1 ( azax g )

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Fluids in rigid body motion
 Linear acceleration of a fluid in a container
 The unequal pressure in the x direction provides the
force required to accelerate the liquid.

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

 Rigid-body rotation

 For a liquid inside a container of the shape of a circular

cylinder, it is better to use cylindrical coordinates
(z,r,θ). When the container is rotating at an angular
speed ω, all liquid particles are under a centripetal
acceleration ω2r. There will be a pressure gradient
along the r direction.
F = ma on the fluid:
p
p p  r
r

2r A
r dr
p
p  A  ( p  r )  A  Ar  (  r )
p
r
2 
r
  2 r
January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena
 Rigid-body rotation
 The pressure gradients in the other directions are:
p p
  g ; and, 0
z 
 The total pressure differential is given by
p p p
dp  dr  dz  d  dp   2 rdr  gdz
r z 
 Lines of constant pressure lie on:
dp   rdr  gdz  0 or,
2 dz  2 r

dr g
 Integrating and applying the boundary condition z(r=0) =
zo: 2 2
 r
z  z(r )   zo
2g
 The elevation of the free surface varies with r. Its shape is a
paraboloid.

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena

January-April 2018; A. W. Jayawardena