Experiment #3

Center of Pressure on a Submerged Plane Surface

Stephen Mirdo

Performed on October 7, 2010

Report due October 14, 2010

 Table of Contents

Object ………………………………………..………………………….………….…. p. 1

Theory ………………………………………………………………..………....…pp. 1 - 4

Procedure …………………………………………………………………….………...p. 5

Results ………………………………………………………..……...........……………p. 6

Discussion and Conclusion …………………………………………………….………p. 7

Appendix ……………………………………………………..…….…....………pp. 8 - 10
 Object
The object of this experiment was to calculate the hydrostatic force a fluid exerts
on a submerged plane surface and then compare the experimental hydrostatic force to the
theoretical hydrostatic force.

Theory
A fluid at rest is said to be in a static condition. Consider a small three
dimensional “chunk” of a static fluid, called a fluid particle as seen in Figure 1. The fluid
particle experiences a constant pressure on all sides acting inward towards a single point
at its center. The horizontal x and y components of the pressure are equal and opposite
and have a net sum of zero. It can then be said that the pressure does not change in the
horizontal direction.

Figure 1: Diagram of a fluid particle with the acting pressures and forces.

The pressure components acting in the vertical z direction are also equal and
opposite in magnitude and negate one another. The only component of Figure one that is
not negated is the weight of the fluid particle that acts vertically along the z axis. By
Newton’s Second Law, the force of weight is expressed as the product of mass, m, and
acceleration, a.

F = ma (Equation 1)

The mass of the fluid particle can be expressed as the product of its density, ρ, and its
volume, V.

m = ρV (Equation 2)

Substituting Equation 2 into Equation 1 for the mass term and letting the acceleration
term equal gravitational acceleration yields:

F = ρVg (Equation 3)

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 Because the x and y components of the pressure acting on the fluid particle are
negated, the volume term of Equation 3 is reduced from a volume to a unit length, dz. As
the depth of the fluid particle increases, the pressure acting on the particle also increases
due to the weight of the fluid. This is known as the pressure gradient. The change in
pressure, dP, can be expressed as a first order, non-homogenous, ordinary differential
equation. The change in pressure with respect to the change in height will equal the
specific gravity of the fluid particle, ρg.

dP/dz = ρg (Equation 4)

Separating and integrating Equation 4 will yield the hydrostatic equation.

P
Po∫ dP = zo∫zρg dz  ΔP = ρgΔz (Equation 5)

Figure 2: Diagram of the center or pressure apparatus, reference heights and acting
force. (Adapted from A Manual for the Mechanics of Fluids Laboratory, W.S. Janna,
University of Memphis Department of M.E., 2008)

If the hydrostatic equation is applied to an infinite number of points on a

submerged surface, such as that of the submerged plane of the torus in Figure 2, it will
yield an increasing pressure for an increasing depth. This increase with depth is known
as the pressure gradient, which can be seen in Figure 3 below. Inside of the pressure
gradient, there is a location where an equivalent resultant force, Rf, will act.

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 Figure 3: Diagram of the pressure gradient and the equivalent resultant force

To calculate the theoretical resultant force, Rf, that acts on the submerged plane of
the torus, the hydrostatic equation is applied. Substituting the vertical depth of sinΘzc
into the hydrostatic equation (Equation 5), where zc is the distance from the centroid of
the plane to the free surface, and integrating with respect to the area of the pressure
gradient will yield the equation of the resultant force of the pressure gradient.

∫P dA = ∫ρgsinΘzc dA  Rf = ρgsinΘzcA (Equation 6)

The components of Equation 6 are as follows:

ρ = the density of the fluid
g = gravitational acceleration
zc = the distance from the free surface to the centroid of the plane
A = the area of the submerged plane

To calculate the distance from the surface of the fluid to the centroid of the
submerged plane of the torus, zc, employ the following equation where Ri is the inner
radius of the torus, Ro is the outer radius of the torus and z is vertical height from the
pivot to the fluid level.

zc = (Ri – z) + (Ro – Ri)/2 (Equation 7)

After determining the distance from the surface of the fluid to the centroid of the
submerged plane in Equation 7, Equation 6 may be used to calculate the theoretical
resultant force Rf.

To calculate the experimental resultant force of the fluid in the torus of the center
of pressure apparatus, a sum of the moments about the pivot point must calculated. To
obtain the distance of the resultant force to the pivot point, zR, employ Equation 8 below
where Ixx,c is the second moment of inertia of a square specimen, zc (Equation 7) is the
distance from the centroid to the free surface, and A is the area of the submerged plane.

zR = Ixx,c / (zcA) + zc (Equation 8)

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The second moment of inertia formula is as follows, where b is the length of the base of
the submerged plane and h is the height of the submerged plane:

Ixx,c = (1/12) bh3 (Equation 9)

To calculate the sum of the moments acting around the pivot of the lever arm of
the apparatus, employ Equation 10 below where Rf is the experimental resultant force to
be determined, z is the vertical distance from the fluid level to the pivot, zR is the distance
from the resultant force to the pivot, W is the weight applied to the weight hanger and L
is the moment arm of the apparatus. The equation is set equal to zero and rearranged
algebraically in Equation 11 so as to solve for the experimental resultant force the fluid
exerts on the submerged plane of the torus.

ΣMo = Rf(z + zR) – WL = 0 (Equation 10)

Rf = WL / (z + zR) (Equation 11)

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 Procedure

Equipment:

TQ H11 Center of Pressure Apparatus (SN: A0390/10)

Weights in any increment
Water

Experiment:

1) Place the center of pressure apparatus on a level surface. This is important for
obtaining an accurate force balance scenario.

2) Add weight to the weight hanger of the center of pressure apparatus. For
example, add 20 grams. The hanger can be found on the far left of the
apparatus as seen in Figure 1.

3) Pour water into the torus until the added weight of the water balances the lever
arm about the pivot to a horizontal position.

4) Record the vertical height of the water in the torus relative to the pivot of the
lever arm. This value will be needed to calculate the moment the hydrostatic
force the fluid exerts on the plane at the bottom of the torus.

5) Repeat Steps 2 through 4 for four more weights. It is not important to use an
identical increment of weight for each trial. It is, however, important to
reference the vertical height from the free surface of the fluid in the torus to
the pivot of the lever arm.

6) Use Equation 11 to calculate the experimental hydrostatic force the water

exerts on the submerged plane of the torus. Use Equation 6 to calculate the
theoretical hydrostatic force the water exerts on the submerged plane of the
torus.

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 Results

Table 1: Dimension of the torus used to calculate theoretical and experimental

force of the pressure gradient exerted on the torus.
Base of Submerged Plane (m) 0.075
Height of Submerged Plane (m) 0.1
Moment Arm L (m) 0.2
Inner Radius of Torus (m) 0.1
Outer Radius of Torus (m) 0.2

Table 2: Weights, heights and calculated experimental and theoretical hydrostatic forces
Rf Rf
Weight
Mass (g) z (m) zc (m) zR (m) Experimental Theoretical
(N)
(N) (N)
450 4.41 0.092 0.058 0.0724 5.37 4.27
470 4.61 0.088 0.062 0.0754 5.64 4.56
490 4.81 0.084 0.066 0.0786 5.91 4.86
510 5.00 0.08 0.07 0.0819 6.18 5.15
530 5.20 0.076 0.074 0.0853 6.45 5.44
550 5.40 0.072 0.078 0.0887 6.72 5.74

Note: Theoretical hydrostatic force calculations in Table 2 used values of ρ = 1000 kg/m3
and g = 9.81m/s2.

Table 3: Percent error calculation for theoretical and experimental hydrostatic force
Rf Rf
% Error
Experimental Theoretical
5.37 4.27 25.9%
5.64 4.56 23.7%
5.91 4.86 21.7%
6.18 5.15 20.0%
6.45 5.44 18.4%
6.72 5.74 17.0%

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 Discussion & Conclusion
In summing the moments about the pivot of the apparatus, the buoyant force is
neglected. As seen in the apparatus setup in Figure 2, the fluid resides inside the torus.
The presence of buoyancy comes from the air outside of the torus. Because the density
of air is a mere fraction of that of the material of the torus and the fluid it contains, it can
be neglected in the hydrostatic force calculations.

The weight of the torus can also be neglected. Because the center of the curvature
of the torus is at the location of the pivot, it is negated. The weight of the torus was not
included in the calculations because the device was calibrated with ballast water so as to
begin the experiment with a net moment of zero about the pivot.

It was noted that a large discrepancy between the theoretical and experimental
values occurred. This is most likely due to errors in measurement of the height of the
fluid inside of the torus. Another possible cause could be that the apparatus was not
sitting level on the counter where the experiment was performed. If the apparatus is not
sitting level, the moment calculations will yield inaccurate results. A leveling device on
or near the testing apparatus would aid in ensuring the moment balance is accurate.

Another source of error would be the use of the accepted density of water, 1000
3
kg/m , for the theoretical calculation of the hydrostatic force. This accepted value is the
density of sea water at 4oC. The water used in this experiment was tap water at
approximately 23oC. However, if the actual density of the tap water was used, the
theoretical calculations would not differ greatly enough to compensate for the magnitude
of the error.

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 Appendix
Data Usage

Sample calculation of the weight of a 450 gram mass block:

W = 450 g * (kg/1000g) * 9.81 m/s2 = 4.41 N

Sample calculation of the distance from the surface to the centroid, zc, at a fluid
depth of 92mm

zc = [(100mm – 92mm) + (200mm – 100mm)/2] * (m/1000mm) = 0.058 m

Sample calculation of the theoretical resultant force acting on the torus at a weight
of 4.81 N and fluid height of 84 mm

Rf, theoretical = 1000 kg/m3 * 9.81 m/s2 * (150mm – 84mm) * 75mm * 100mm = 4.86 N

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Bibliography

Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, 3rd Edition

William S. Janna (1993)

A Manual for the Mechanics of Fluids Laboratory

William S. Janna (2008)