Module 3.

Principles of Hydrostatic Pressure

Overview

This module is intended to give the students the knowledge on how the
effect of pressure variation throughout a fluid and the effect of pressure on
submerged surfaces.

Learning Objectives
The students are expected to
• determine the pressure at various locations in a fluid at rest.
• explain the concept of manometers and apply appropriate equations
to determine pressures.

Topics
This module presents the following topics:
• Unit Pressure
• Direction of Resultant Pressure
• Pascal’s Law
• Free Surface of a Fluid
• Atmospheric Pressure
• Absolute and Gage Pressure
• Variation of Pressure with Depth in a Fluid
• Pressure Head
• Transmission of Pressure
• Manometers
• Hydrostatic Relations for Compressible Fluids

Introduction
In fluid mechanics, when we say pressure, we are dealing only with a gas or a
liquid. Pressure is defined as a normal force exerted by a fluid per unit area. The
forces applied by fluid at rest or in rigid-body motion is due to pressure which is
exerted by a fluid per unit area. Absolute and gage pressure, pressure at a point,
the variation of pressure with depth and the devices used in measuring pressure
like manometer, are important topics that a student should be equipped with for
their deep understanding on the applications of fluid mechanics in our daily life.
Discussion

Lesson 1 Unit Pressure

Pressure is used to indicate the normal force per unit area at a given point
acting on a given plane within the fluid mass of interest.

Note the pressure units bar, atm, and kgf/cm2 are almost equivalent to each other.
In the English system, the pressure unit is pound-force per square inch (lbf/in2, or
psi), and 1 atm = 14.696 psi. The pressure units kgf/cm2 and lbf/in2 are also
denoted by kg/cm2 and lb/in2, respectively, and they are commonly used in tire
gages. It can be shown that 1 kgf/cm2 = 14.223 psi.

 Pressure is also used for solids as synonymous to normal stress, which is

force acting perpendicular to the surface per unit area.

Direction of Resultant Pressure

Fig. 3.1 Forces on the arbitrary element of fluid

Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W.
2010. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
• Forces in the x direction are not shown, and the z axis is taken as the
vertical axis so the weight acts in the negative z direction.
• To make the analysis as general as possible, we will allow the fluid element
to have accelerated motion.
• Zero shearing stresses assumption will still be valid so long as the fluid
element moves as a rigid body; that is, there is no relative motion between
adjacent elements.
• Newton’s second law, for x and y direction

• Considering the forces at a point, the above equation will become

• The angle Ɵ was arbitrarily chosen so we can conclude that the pressure
at a point in a fluid at rest, or in motion, is independent of direction as long
as there are no shearing stresses present (Pascal’s Law).

Fig. 3.2 Surface and body forces acting on small fluid element
Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W.
2010. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.

• The resultant surface force acting on a small fluid element depends only
on the pressure gradient if there are no shearing stresses present.
 • The resultant surface force acting on a small fluid element depends only
on the pressure gradient if there are no shearing stresses present.

Pascal’s Law

“Any force applied to a confined fluid is transmitted uniformly in all

directions throughout the fluid regardless of the shape of the container.”
Blaise Pascal, (born June 19, 1623, Clermont-Ferrand, France—
died August 19, 1662, Paris), French mathematician, physicist, religious
philosopher, and master of prose. He laid the foundation for the modern theory of
probabilities, formulated what came to be known as Pascal’s principle of
pressure, and propagated a religious doctrine that taught the experience of God
through the heart rather than through reason. The establishment of his principle
of intuitionism had an impact on such later philosophers as Jean-Jacques
Rousseau and Henri Bergson and also on the Existentialists.
Source: https://www.britannica.com

Free Surface of a Fluid

In physics, a free surface is the surface of a fluid that is subject to zero parallel
shear stress, such as the interface between two homogeneous fluids, for example
liquid water and the air in the Earth's atmosphere. Unlike liquids, gases cannot
form a free surface on their own. Fluidized/liquified solids, including slurries,
granular materials, and powders may form a free surface. A liquid in a
gravitational field will form a free surface if unconfined from above. Under
mechanical equilibrium this free surface must be perpendicular to the forces
acting on the liquid; if not there would be a force along the surface, and the liquid
would flow in that direction. Thus, on the surface of the Earth, all free surfaces of
liquids are horizontal unless disturbed (except near solids dipping into them,
where surface tension distorts the surface in a region called the meniscus).In a
free liquid that is not affected by outside forces such as a gravitational field,
internal attractive forces only play a role (e.g. Van der Waals forces, hydrogen
bonds). Its free surface will assume the shape with the least surface area for its
volume: a perfect sphere. Such behaviour can be expressed in terms of surface
tension. It can be demonstrated experimentally by observing a large globule of oil
placed below the surface of a mixture of water and alcohol having the same
density so the oil has neutral buoyancy.
Source: https://www.definitions.net

Standard Atmosphere
The standard atmosphere is an idealized representation of mean
conditions in the earth’s atmosphere. The concept of a standard atmosphere was
first developed in the 1920s, and since that time many national and international
committees and organizations have pursued the development of such a standard.
The currently accepted standard atmosphere is based on a report published in
1962 and updated in 1976 1see Refs. 1 and 22, defining the so-called U.S.
standard atmosphere, which is an idealized representation of middle-latitude,
year round mean conditions of the earth’s atmosphere. Several important
properties for standard atmospheric conditions at sea level.
Table 3.1 Properties of U.S. Standard Atmosphere at Sea Level

Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W. 2010.
Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Fig. 3.3 Variation of temperature with altitude in the U.S. standard atmosphere
Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W.
2010. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
Absolute and Gage Pressure
Absolute pressure is measured relative to a perfect vacuum 1absolute
zero pressure2, whereas gage pressure is measured relative to the local
atmospheric pressure. Thus, a gage pressure of zero corresponds to a pressure
that is equal to the local atmospheric pressure. Absolute pressures are always
positive, but gage pressures can be either positive or negative depending on
whether the pressure is above atmospheric pressure 1a positive value2 or
below atmospheric pressure (a negative value). A negative gage pressure is
also referred to as a suction or vacuum pressure.

Fig. 3.4 Graphical Representation of Absolute and Gage Pressure

Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W.
2010. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.

• pressure is a force per unit

• units used : lb/ft2 ; lb/in2; N/m2 o 1 N/m2 = 1 Pa

• standard atmospheric pressure can be expressed as 760 mm Hg (abs)

• atmospheric pressure is usually accomplished with a mercury barometer,
which in its simplest form consists of a glass tube closed at one end with
the open end immersed in a container of mercury.
• The tube is initially filled with mercury 1inverted with its open end up2 and
then turned upside down 1open end down2, with the open end in the
container of mercury.
 Fig. 3.5 Mercury Barometer
Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W.
2010. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.

• the column of mercury will come to an equilibrium position where its weight
plus the force due to the vapor pressure 1which develops in the space
above the column2 balances the force due to the atmospheric pressure

o where is the specific weight of mercury

• pvapor = 0.000023 lb/in2 at 68°F, for practical applications, too very small
hence negligible, so that

• it is conventional to specify atmospheric pressure in terms of the height, h,

in millimeters or inches of mercury
 • if water were used instead of mercury, the height of the column would have
to be approximately 34 ft rather than 29.9 in. of mercury for an atmospheric
pressure of 14.7 psia
• the concept of the mercury barometer is an old one, with the invention of
this device attributed to Evangelista Torricelli in about 1644

Variation of Pressure with Depth in a Fluid

• There are two types of forces acting on this element: surface forces due to
the pressure, and a body force equal to the weight of the element.
• The pressure may vary across a fluid particle.
 Fig. 3.6 Surface and body forces acting on small fluid element.
Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W.
2010. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.

Similarly, for the x and z directions the resultant surface forces are

The resultant surface force acting on the element can be expressed in

vector form as

The group of terms in parentheses represents in vector form the pressure

gradient and can be written as
Where

Thus, the resultant surface force per unit volume can be expressed as

Since the z axis is vertical, the weight of the element is

where the negative sign indicates that the force due to the weight is
downward 1in the negative z direction2. Newton’s second law, applied to
the fluid element, can be expressed as

where represents the resultant force acting on the element, a is the

acceleration of the element, and is the element mass, which can be written

as
It follows that

Or

and, therefore,

is the general equation of motion for a fluid in which there are no shearing
stresses.

is the fundamental equation for fluids at rest and can be used to determine
how pressure changes with elevation. This equation and the figure in the
 margin indicate that the pressure gradient in the vertical direction is
negative; that is, the pressure decreases as we move upward in a fluid at
rest. There is no requirement that Ƴ be a constant. Thus, it is valid for fluids
with constant specific weight, such as liquids, as well as fluids whose
specific weight may vary with elevation, such as air or other gases.
 For liquids or gases at rest, the pressure gradient in the vertical direction at
any point in a fluid depends only on the specific weight of the fluid at that
point.

Sample Prob. 3.1

Transmission of Pressure
A. Incompressible Fluids
• The transmission of pressure throughout a stationary fluid is the principle
upon which many hydraulic devices are based.
• Since the specific weight is equal to the product of fluid density and
acceleration of gravity changes in Ƴ are caused either by a change in
ρ or g.
• For most engineering applications the variation in g is negligible, so our
main concern is with the possible variation in the fluid density.
• In general, a fluid with constant density is called an incompressible fluid.
• For liquids the variation in density is usually negligible, even over large
vertical distances.

• where h is the distance z2-z1, which is the depth of fluid measured

downward from the location of p2. This type of pressure distribution is
commonly called a hydrostatic distribution.

Fig. 3.7 Notation for pressure variation in a fluid at rest with a free surface.
Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W.
2010. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
B. Compressible Fluids
• Gases such as air, oxygen, and nitrogen as being compressible fluids
since the density of the gas can change significantly with changes in
pressure and temperature.
• As example, the specific weight of air at sea level and 60°F is 0.0763 lb/ft3,
whereas the specific weight of water under the same conditions is 62.4
lb/ft3.
• Since the specific weights of gases are comparatively small, the pressure
gradient in the vertical direction is correspondingly small, and even over
distances of several hundred feet the pressure will remain essentially
constant for a gas which the effect of elevation changes on the pressure in
tanks, pipes, and so forth, is being neglected, in which the distances
involved are small.
• The following are formula applicable
Sample Prob. 3.2
 Measurement of Pressure

Manometry
• Manometers – measuring devices used in a standard technique for
measuring pressure which involves the use of liquid columns.
• Manometers use vertical or inclined liquid columns to measure pressure.
• Three common types of manometers include the piezometer tube, the U-
tube manometer, and the inclined-tube manometer.

Piezometer Tube

Fig. 3.8 Piezometer tube.

Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W. 2010.
Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• The simplest type of manometer consists of a vertical tube, open at the top,
and attached to the container in which the pressure is desire.

or from Fig 3.8,

where Ƴ1 is the specific weight of the liquid in the container

• since the tube is open at the top, the pressure P0 can be set equal to zero
with the height h1, measured from the meniscus at the upper surface to
point (1).
 • Since point A is at same elevation with point 1, PA = P1
• It is only suitable if the pressure in the container is greater than atmospheric
pressure 1otherwise air would be sucked into the system2, and the
pressure to be measured must be relatively small so the required height of
the column is reasonable.
• The fluid in the container in which the pressure is to be measured must be
a liquid rather than a gas.

U-Tube Manometer

Fig. 3.9 Simple U-Tube manometer.

Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W. 2010.
Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• . The fluid in the manometer is called the gage fluid.

• With this equation to find the pressure in terms of the
various column heights, we start at one end of the system and work our
way around to the other end.
• The fluid in the manometer is called the gage fluid.
• Consider Fig. 3.8, start at point A and work around to the open end.
• Te pressure at point A and (1) are the same, and as we move from point
(1) to
(2) the pressure will increase by Ƴ1h1 .
• The pressure at point (2) is equal to the pressure at point (3), since the
pressures at equal elevation in a continuous mass of fluid at rest must be
the same.
• With the pressure at point (3) specified, we now move to the open where
the pressure is zero.
• Moving vertically upward the pressure decreases by an amount Ƴ2h2.

Which can be written as

Since gas column can be negligible, this will become

• The U-tube manometer is also widely used to measure the difference in

pressure between two containers or two points in a given system.
• In Fig. 3.10, the differential in pressure between A and B can be found by
starting at one end of the system and working around to the other end.
• Capillarity due to surface tension at the various fluid interfaces in the
manometer is usually not considered, since for a simple U-tube with a
meniscus in each leg, the capillary effects cancel (assuming the surface
tensions and tube diameters are the same at each meniscus), or we can
make the capillary rise negligible by using relatively large bore tubes (with
diameters of about 0.5 inch or larger).

Fig. 3.10 Differential U-tube Manometer

Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W. 2010.
Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 • Two common gage fluids are water and mercury.
• Both give a well-defined meniscus (a very important characteristic for a
gage fluid) and have well known properties.
• The gage fluid must be immiscible with respect to the other fluids in contact
with it. For highly accurate measurements, special attention should be
given to temperature since the various specific weights of the fluids in the
manometer will vary with temperature.

Inclined –tube Manometer

Fig. 3.11 Inclined-tube manometer

Source: Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch, Wade W.
2010. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of America. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.

The difference in pressure PA - PB can be expressed

or

where it is to be noted the pressure difference between points (1) and (2)
is due to the vertical distance between the points, which can be expressed
a ʵ2 sin θ.

where the contributions of the gas columns h1 and h2 have been neglected.
  Mechanical and electronic pressure measuring devices can also be used
like Bourdon pressure gage and aneroid barometer.

Sample Problem 3.3

Sample Prob. 3.4
Sample Prob. 3.5
Sample 3.6
Sample Prob. 3.7
Sample Prob. 3.8
Student Activity # 3.1 Solve the following problems.

1. 2 A closed, 5-m-tall tank is filled with water to a depth of 4 m. The top

portion of the tank is filled with air which, as indicated by a pressure gage at
the top of the tank, is at a pressure of 20 kPa. Determine the pressure that
the water exerts on the bottom of the tank.
2. A closed tank is partially filled with glycerin. If the air pressure in the tank is
6 lb/in.2 and the depth of glycerin is 10 ft, what is the pressure in lb/ft2 at
the bottom of the tank?
3. Determine the ratio h w/hm of the distances hw and hm indicated in the figure.

4. Determine the pressure difference P A-PB between.

5. Determine the elevation difference Δh, between the water levels in the two
open tanks shown below.
 6. Pipe A contains gasoline , pipe B contains oil , and the manometer fluid is
mercury. Determine the new differential reading if the pressure in pipe A
is decreased 25 kPa, and the pressure in pipe B remains constant. The
initial differential reading is 0.30 m as shown.

7. An inverted U-tube manometer containing oil (SG = 0.8) is located

between the two reservoir. The reservoir on the left, which contains
carbon tetrachloride, is closed and pressurized to 8 psi. The reservoir on
the right contains water and is open to the atmosphere. With the given
data, determine the depth of water,h, in the right reservoir.

Feedback
The student is a way of familiarization of the different applications of the theory
and principle discussed.
Summary
The unit pressure has been defined and the distinction between absolute and
gage pressure has been emphasized. The variation of fluids at rest has been
given more attention along with the transmission of pressure in a incompressible
and compressible fluids. Also, the magnitude and direction of the resultant has
been discussed.
The following formula has been presented in this module:

References
1. Cengel, Yunus A. and John M. Cimbala. 2006. Fluid Mechanics:
Fundamentals and Applications. New York. McGraw-Hill.
2. Munson, Bruce R., Young, Donald F., Okiishi, Theodore H., Huebsch,
Wade W. 2010. Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. United States of
America. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.