EXPERIMENT 1 HYDROSTATIC FORCE INTRODUCTION: The study of pressure forces acting on plane submerged surfaces is a fundamental topic in the

subject of hydrostatic involving assessment of the value of the net thrust and the concept of center of pressure, which are so important in the design of innumerable items of hydraulic equipment and civil engineering projects. OBJECTIVES The objectives of the experiment are: 1. To determine experimentally the resultant hydrostatic force (total force applied on a submerged surface. !. To determine the experimental and the theoretical center of pressure. LEARNING OUTCOME "t is expected by completing the experiment, the students will be able: 1. To explain clearly the principles of forces exerted on a plane or curved surface. !. To demonstrate technical s#ills in laboratory tests that yield valid results. APPARATUS The apparatus which is shown in $ig. 1.1 is designed in a way that only the moment due to hydrostatic pressure distribution on the vertical end of water vessel should be included. The water vessel is designed as a ring segment with constant cross%section. The top and bottom faces are concentric circular arcs centered on the pivot so that the resultant hydrostatic force at every point passes through the pivot axis and does not contribute to the moment.

$igure 1.1 % &etails of the apparatus

THEORY/BACKGROUND $igure 1.! shows the submerged surface viewed from the left side of the tan# in $igure 1.1. The depth of the centroid below the surface of the water is h. The x%y coordinate system has its origin at the centroid. The y%direction position of the center of pressure is y'.
" (h

y' = h +

where " is the moment of inertia of the surface about the x%axis, and ( is the surface area. The location of the center of pressure can be measured using the apparatus s#etched in $igure 1.). The counterweight is adjusted so that the beam is hori*ontal when there is no water in the tan# and no weight in the pan. +hen the tan# is ,lled with water the unbalanced hydrostatic force causes the beam to tilt. (dding weight + to the pan at a distance - from the pivot . exerts a moment + - that counterbalances the resultant moment due to the hydrostatic forces on the quarter%annulus%shaped body (/01. +hen the water level is as shown in the ,gure, there are hydrostatic forces on surfaces (/, /2 and (T. 2ince /2 and (T are concentric cylindrical surfaces with the common axis passing

through ., the hydrostatic forces on /2 and (T do not exert any moment about .. (s a result +- is equal to the moment due to the hydrostatic force $ acting on the vertical plane surface (/.

$igure 1.! % &etailed nomenclature for locating the center of pressure

$igure 1.) % (pparatus for measuring the location of the center of pressure
L

e hp F c b

$igure 1.3 % 2#etch of the (pparatus

$rom figure 1.3 :

1 ! ) 3 6 7 8

+-4$a hp 4 a 5 e hp 4
WL e F

(4/y hs 4 "4 $4
1 y !
by ) 1!

1 gby ! !

Theoritical $ormulae :

$ 4 9 g hs ( : hp 4 hs ;
I Ahs

PROCEDURES 1. 2et the water vessel to an angle of < 4 => using the detent. !. ?ount the rider, set the lever arm on the scale.(1@= mm ). Aounterbalance the unit with a rotating slider. The stop pin must be precisely in the middle of the hole for this purpose. 3. 0ut the =.6 B weight at the hanger. 6. Top up the water vessel with water until the unit is balanced. (2top pin at center of hole . 7. 'ead off water level e and y and enter it in the prepared table.

8. 'epeat step 3 5 7 by increasing the weight. ("ncrements of =.6 B The wor#sheet in the appendix can be used for reading the required data. RESULTS AND CALCULATION 1. Aompleted the wor#sheet table in the appendix. !. 2how the sample calculations.

APPENDIX +ater vessel #uadrant, -ever arm, L (m) b (m) '%!( !"#$%& (N) L!)!*& Y (m) '%!( L!)!* F(+m B'(& ! (m) A(!'& A (m,) C!-%(+". & $/ (m) M+m!-% +0 A(!'& I (m1) C!-%!( +0 F+(2!& F (N) E546 P(!//3(!& $4 (m) T$!+(7 b 4 86 mm - 4 1@= mm

DISCUSSIONS &iscussion ( strong person can lift 1== #g, whose weight is @:1 B or about 1 #B. (lso, the person can apply the force at a point farthest from the hinges (1 m farther for maximum effect

and generate a moment of 1 #B C m. The resultant hydrostatic force acts under the midpoint of the door,and thus a distance of =.6 m from the hinges. This generates a moment of 6=.7 #B C m, which is about 6= times the moment the driver can possibly generate. Therefore, it is impossible for the driver to open the door of the car. The driverDs best bet is to let some water in (by rolling the window down a little, for example and to #eep his or her head close to the ceiling. The driver should be able to open the door shortly before the car is filled with water since at that point the pressures on both sides of the door are nearly the same and opening the door in water is almost aseasy as opening it in air.

CONCLUSIONS

"n conclusion, the theoretical values calculated, differ significantly from those measured during the experiment. 2ome of this error can be explained by the human error in measurements of depth. .ther sources of error are in the apparatus itself, ranging from a less than ideal door seal, to waves and disturbances that could have made the depths of water seem larger than they were.