Introduction

Hydrostatic force is the force of the water on all surfaces when there are no shear
stresses on the fluid, which happens when water is stationary. This force acts in a
direction normal to each surface and is dependent on the depth of that surface. The
magnitude of the hydrostatic force on any surface can be calculated using the
following equation:

Where  is the specific weight of the fluid, hc is the depth of the centroid of the
submerged surface, and A is the area of the submerged area.

Care must be used when determining hc and A due to the different methods required
depending on whether the vertical surface is fully submerged, or partially submerged.
In the fully submerged case, A will not change with each reading, and hc will be equal
to the height of water minus half of the vertical plane height.

In the partially submerged case where the vertical surface is only partially under the
water, A and hc are both dependent on the water height. The value of A will always be
calculated using the depth, h and hc will equal half of h.

The circular quadrant was chosen to confine all hydrostatic forces to it’s vertical
surface. The axis of the quadrant is also the pivot point of the submerged apparatus.
All forces on the quadrant that are not on the vertical surface have a line of action that
pass through that pivot point. This setup allows the experimenter to ignore all forces
that are not on the vertical surface.

With only one force to examine, the moment about the pivot point can be determined
with respect to both the weights and the hydrostatic force. These two moments must
be in equilibrium for the weight to balance.

, where is the vertical distance from the pivot point to the Center of

Pressure, and mgL is the moment due to the hanging masses.

Theory
When the quadrant is immersed in water, it is possible to analyze the forces acting on
the surfaces of the quadrant as: 1) the hydrostatic force at any point on the curved
surfaces is normal to the surface and therefore resolves through the pivot point
because the pivot point is located at the origin of the radii. Hydrostatic forces on the
upper and lower curved surfaces therefore have no net torque effect; 2) the forces on
the sides of the quadrant are equal and opposite horizontal forces; 3) the hydrostatic
force on the vertical submerged face is counteracted by the balance weight. At
equilibrium, the sum of the moments about the pivot point is zero. Thus, [1]
𝑚𝑔𝐿 = 𝐹ℎ"
where m is the hanging mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity, L is the distance
from the pivot point to the hanging mass, and h” is the distance from the pivot point
to the center of pressure. With the mass, balance length, and hydrostatic force
determined, the location of the center of pressure on the end face may be determined
for either a partially submerged vertical face or a fully submerged vertical face.

Partially Submerged Vertical Face

For the case of a partially submerged face the hydrostatic thrust is defined as

𝐹 = 𝜌𝑔𝐴ℎ [2]

where A is the wetted surface area of the vertical face (B∙d),  is the density of water,
and h is the mean depth of immersion (h = d/2). Therefore the hydrostatic thrust is

1 [3]
𝐹= 𝜌𝑔𝐵𝑑 2
2
Substituting Eqn. 3 into Eqn. 1 and solving for h” yields the experimentally
determined distance between the pivot point and center of pressure
[4]
2𝑚𝐿
ℎ" =
𝜌𝐵𝑑 2

The theoretical depth of pressure below the free surface is

𝐼𝑥 [5]
ℎ′ =
𝐴ℎ
where Ix is the 2nd moment of area of immersed section about an axis in the free
surface. Applying the parallel axes theorem yields

𝐵𝑑 3 𝑑 2 𝐵𝑑 3 [6]
𝐼𝑥 = 𝐼𝑐 + 𝐴ℎ2 = + 𝐵𝑑 ( ) =
12 2 3
Substituting Eqn. 6 into Eqn. 5 yields

[7]
 2𝑑
ℎ′ =
3
From geometry, the theoretical depth of center of pressure below the pivot point is

ℎ" = ℎ′ + 𝐻 − 𝑑 [8]

Combining Eqn. 7 and Eqn. 8 yields the theoretical depth of center of pressure

𝑑 [9]
ℎ" = 𝐻 −
3
Fully Submerged Vertical Plane

For the case where the vertical face of the quadrant is fully submerged, the hydrostatic
thrust is
[10]
𝐷
𝐹 = 𝜌𝑔𝐴ℎ = 𝜌𝑔𝐵𝐷 (𝑑 − )
2
Substituting Eqn. 10 into Eqn. 1 the experimental distance between the pivot point
and the center of pressure is
𝑚𝐿
ℎ" = [11]
𝐷
𝜌𝐵𝐷 (𝑑 − 2 )

The theoretical depth of pressure below the free surface is given by Eqn. 5. Applying
the parallel axes theorem for the fully submerged surface yields

2
𝐷2 𝐷 2 [12]
𝐼𝑥 = 𝐼𝑐 + 𝐴ℎ = 𝐵𝐷 [ + (𝑑 − ) ]
12 2

Inserting Eqn. 12 into Eqn. 5 yields

𝐷2 𝐷 2 [13]
+ (𝑑 −
ℎ′ = 12 2)
𝑑 − 𝐷/2

Substituting Eqn. 13 into Eqn. 8 the theoretical depth of center of pressure below the
pivot point is

𝐷2 𝐷 2 [14]
+ (𝑑 −
ℎ" = 𝐻 + 12 2) − 𝑑
𝑑 − 𝐷/2
Objective
 To determine the centre of pressure on a partially submerged plane surface.
 To compare the Experiment Measured Values with the Theoretically Calculated
Values for center of pressure.

Reference
 https://studylib.net/doc/8085992/hydrostatic-pressure-by-john-fuller-fluid-
mechanics-lab

 http://site.iugaza.edu.ps/mymousa/files/Experiment-1-Fluid-mechanics-
lab.pdf

 http://www.digitaladdis.com/sk/ME495_HydrostaticForce.pdf

 http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/hydrostatic_pressure.htm

Appendix