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PRINCIPLE OF HYDROSTATICS

HYDROSTATICS - is a branch of fluid mechanics that studies incompressible


fluids at rest.

UNIT PRESSURE or PRESSURE (p) - is the force per unit area exerted by a
liquid or gas on a body or surface, with the force acting perpendicular to the surface
uniformly in all directions.

F
p where:
A
F = force perpendicular to a surface

A = area

Consider the weight of the fluid:

p
F p  hg
A
W

A

p  g
mg
 m
A 
But V
Vg

A
Ahg
Where:

A
p= pressure

ρ = mass density

h = height of a fluid

g = gravitational acceleration

y = unit weight or specific weight


PASCAL’S LAW - develop by French Mathematician Blaise Pascal, states that
the pressure on a fluid is equal in all directions and in all parts of the container.

In this figure, as liquid flows into the large


container at the bottom, pressure pushes
the liquid equally up into the tubes above
the container. The liquid rises to the same
level in all of the tubes, regardless of the
shape or angle of the tube.

ABSOLUTE AND GAGE PRESSURES

 GAGE PRESSURE (PGAGE) - is the pressure above or below the


atmosphere and can be measured by pressure gauge or manometer.

 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE (PATM) - is the pressure at any one point on the


earth’s surface from the weight of the air above it.

 ABSOLUTE PRESSURE (PABS) - is the pressure above absolute zero.

p abs  p atm  p gage


MERCURY BAROMETER - an accurate and relatively
simple way to measure changes in atmospheric pressure.

ANEROID BAROMETER - a partially evacuated metal


drum expands or contracts in
responses to changes in air
pressure. A series of levers and
springs translates the up and
down movement of the drum top
into the circular motion of the
pointers along the aneroid barometer’s face.

VARIATIONS IN PRESSURE

Consider any two points (1&2), whose


difference in elevation is h, to lie in the
ends of an elementary prism having a
cross-sectional area a and a length of L.
Since prism is at rest, all forces acting
upon it must be in equilibrium.

𝐹2 − 𝐹1 = 𝑊 sin 𝜃

𝑝2 𝑎 − 𝑝1 𝑎 = 𝛾(𝑎𝐿) sin 𝜃
𝑝2 − 𝑝1 = 𝛾𝐿 sin 𝜃
𝑊 = 𝛾𝑉
𝑊 = 𝛾𝑎𝐿 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐿𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 = ℎ
∑ 𝐹𝑥 = 0

𝑝2 − 𝑝1 = 𝛾ℎ The difference in pressure between any two points in a


homogeneous fluid at rest.

𝑝2 = 𝑝1 + 𝛾ℎ Any change in pressure at point 1 would cause an equal change at


point 2.

𝑝 = 𝑤ℎ If point 1 lies on the free liquid surface (𝑝1 = 0)


𝑝1 = 𝑝2 If points 1 and 2 lie on the same evelation.

PRESSURE BELOW LAYERS OF DIFFERENT LIQUIDS

Consider the tank shiwn to be filled with


liquidsnof different densities and with the
air at the top under a gage pressure of
pA, the pressure at the bottom tank

pbottom   h  p
  1h1   2 h2   3h3  pa

PRESSURE HEAD - - is the height “h” of


a column of homogeneous liquid unit weight (y) that will produce an intensity of
pressure p.

𝑝
ℎ=
𝛾

To convert pressure head (height) of liquid A to liquid B.

𝑠𝑎 𝑝𝑎 𝛾𝑎
ℎ𝑏 = ℎ𝑎 = ℎ𝑎 = ℎ𝑎
𝑠𝑏 𝑝𝑏 𝛾𝑏

To convert pressure head (height) of any liquid to water, just multiply by its specific
gravity.

ℎ𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = (ℎ𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 ) (𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 )

MANOMETER - is a tube, usually bent in a form of a U, containing a liquid of known


specific gravity, the surface of which moves proportionally to changes in pressure.

TYPES OF MANOMETER

1. OPEN TYPE - has an atmospheric surface in one leg and is capable of


measuring gage presssures.
2. DIFFERENTIAL TYPE - without an atmospheric surface and capable of
measuring only differences of pressure.

3. PIEZOMETER - the simplest form of open manometer. It is a tube tapped into


a wall of a container or conduit rises in this tube to form a free surface

STEPS IN SOLVING MANOMETER:

1. Decide on the fluid in feet or meter, of which the heads are to be expressed, (water
is most advisable).

2. Starting from an end point, number in order, the interface of different fluids.

3. Identify points of equal pressure (taking into account that for a homogeneous fluid
at rest, the pressure along the same horizontal plane are equal).Label these points
with the same number.

4. Proceed from level to level, adding or subtracting pressure heads as the elevation
decreases or increases, respectively with due regard for the specific gravity of the
fluids.
SAMPLE PROBLEMS:

1. If a depth of liquid of 1m causes a pressure of 7kPa, what is the specific gravity of


the liquid?

2. If the pressure at a point in the ocean is 60kPa, what is the pressure 27meters
below this point? (s=1.03)

3. The figure shown shows a setup with a vessel containing a plunger and a cyclinder.
What force F is required to balance the weight of the plunger is negligible?

4. The hydraulic press shown is filled with oil with s=0.82. Neglecting the weight of the
two pistons, what force F on the handle is required to support the 10kN weight?

5. A barometer reads 760mmHg and a pressure gage attached to a tank reads 850cm
of oil (s=0.80). What is the absolute pressure in the tank in kPa?

6. If atmospheric pressure is 95.7 kPa and the gage attached to a tank reads
188mmHg vacuum, find the absolute pressure within the tank.

7. Piston A has a cross-section of 1,200 sq. cm while that of piston B is 950 sq. cm.
with the latter higher than piston A by 1.75 m. if the intervening passages are filled
with oil whose specific gravity is 0.8, what is the difference in pressure between A and
B?

8. The figure shown shows a setup with a vessel containing a plunger and a cylinder.
What force F is required to balance the weight of the cylinder if the weight of the
plunger is neglible.

9. In the figure shown, if the atmospheric pressure is 101.03kPa and the absolute
pressure at the bottom of the tank is 231.3kPa, what is the specific gravity of olive oil?

10. The U-tube shown is 10mm in diameter and contains mercury. If 12ml of water is
poured into the right-hand leg, what are the ultimate heights in two legs?

11. For a gage reading of -17.1 kPa, determine the (a) elevations of the liquids in the
open piezometer columns E, F, and G and (b) the deflection of the mercury in the
U-tube manometer neglecting the weight of air.

12. For the manometer setup shown, determine the difference in pressure between A
and B.

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