Recitation notes

fluid mechanics
Sept. 3, 2014

The following two problems will be dealing with buoyancy and Archimedes Principle, i.e.
that the mass of a floating object is equal to the mass of displaced fluid.
1: A hydrometer is an instrument commonly used in beer brewing to measure the specific
gravity of a liquid, as seen in Fig. 1.

Figure 1: A hydrometer changing height after being inserted into a liquid of different density.
Usually consisting of a weight and a thin rod, a hydrometer of mass m is set up so that
it floats in water with the water level at position x. The hydrometer displaces a volume V ,
and the rod has a cross-sectional area of A. When placed into a liquid of different density,
the hydrometer will float at a different height above the initial position; the distance between
the mark x and the new level is denoted h.
In brewing beer, recipes commonly give two values: OG and FG, referring to Original
Gravity and Final Gravity. Once the wort is added, the sugars in the liquid increase the
specific gravity of the fluid to OG. As the sugars ferment and are converted to alcohol, the
density of the liquid decreases until the specific gravity of the mixture is equal to FG. In other
words, OG and FG let you measure the amount of wort you add, and how much fermentation
has occurred.
Problem Statement: Assume the dimensions of the hydrometer are such that V =
10 cm3 and A = 5 mm2 . A recipe for a wheat beer tells you to aim for OG = 1.04, and FG
= 1.01. What height h should you measure on your hydrometer at these times?
Solution: According to buoyancy, the mass of the hydrometer must equal the displaced

volume in both cases. It is simple for water:

mg = H2 O V g

(1)

For the fluid of unknown density, we can write the analogous balance, but our volume has
been decreased by the changing column height - it has dropped by A h. Therefore,
mg = 2 (V Ah)g

(2)

Equating Eq. 1 and 2, and rearranging for specific gravity, we then have:
SG =

2
V
=
H2 O
V Ah

(3)

Plugging in the given specific gravities 1.04 and 1.01, we can find the corresponding heights:
hOG = 8cm

(4)

hF G = 2cm

(5)

In other words, the hydrometer will actually sink lower into the liquid, by 8 cm and 2 cm at
OG and FG. Ive set up this problem with the same sign convention that Wilkes uses, but real
hydrometers usually use the opposite sign convention, i.e. it is assumed that the hydrometer
will sink lower.
2: A Cartesian Diver is an object (such as an eyedropper, or as I used in recitation, a weighted
pipette) floating in a bottle. When the bottle is squeezed, the Diver sinks! You can find a
good one here. In a simplified picture, our diver is a cap of mass m that is trapping a volume

Figure 2: A simplified schematic of a Cartesian Diver. (When the Diver is stationary at the
top, the bubble has volume V )
V of air inside it, floating at the top. The trapped air is initially at a pressure P , and then
a pressure of p0 is applied (by squeezing the bottle). Can we explain why the diver sinks,
and then rises again when p0 is removed? Can we get the Diver to stop in the middle of the
bottle?
The reason the Diver sinks is that the buoyant forces on it have decreased, such that it
cannot support its weight any more. The key is that air is in fact compressible. Its density
CHBE 401

Recitation Notes

is not a constant, and can change in volume (as such, be careful when doing a hydrostatic
head style calculation for air!), which in turn changes the amount of water displaced by the
cap/air system.
Initially, the Diver is floating, so the buoyant force is greater than the weight of the diver.
Therefore,
mg < V g
(6)
After applying external pressure, the pressure is transmitted throughout the water in the
bottle (c.f. Pascals Law), causing the volume of the gas bubble to change. Assuming ideal
gas, and that no air has leaked out of the cap, P1 V1 = P2 V2 , and so the new volume V 0
is
P
V0 =
V
(7)
P + p0
If we apply enough pressure such that
mg >

P
Vg
P + p0

(8)

then the Diver will sink!

Note that we cannot in fact get the Diver to stay put at some completely submerged state
easily. If we were to apply a constant pressure p0 such that the weight and buoyant force
are equal, the Diver will reach a constant velocity (zero acceleration), but continue moving.
However, if we weighted the Diver appropriately, and placed it in the middle of the bottle,
we could have it stay in place. This is an unstable equilibrium, so further disturbance would
kick it away. If we had a control system in place, we could continually vary the pressure until
the desired setpoint is reached.
With regards to the air bubble, it is important to distinguish this major difference between
what we often think of as fluids (i.e. water, Newtonian fluids, etc.) and gases, despite being
able to describe them similarly mathematically. You will soon see the continuity equation,
which essentially describes mass conservation:

+ (v) = 0
t

(9)

Most problems you will see in this class will assume incompressibility, such that
v =0

(10)

However, you cannot make this assumption with gases and other compressible fluids! Youve
likely already noticed the difference this makes in problem 1.16 this week (among others),
but make sure to keep an eye out for it.

CHBE 401

Recitation Notes