FLUID STATIC

DIAH SUSANTI, PhD

By the definition of a fluid, shear deformation must

increase continuously when a shear stress of any
magnitude is applied.
The absence of angular deformation implies the absence of
shear stresses. Therefore, fluids either at rest or in rigid
body motion are able to sustain only normal stress.
Therefore we use hydrostatic analysis to solve problems in
rigid body.
The principles of hydrostatics are used to compute forces
on submerged objects, develop instruments for measuring
pressures, and deduce properties of the atmospheres and
oceans.
In a static, homogeneous fluid, or in a fluid undergoing
rigid body motion, a fluid particle retains its identity for all
time, and fluid elements do not deform.
We may apply Newtons second law of motion to evaluate
the forces acting on the particle.

3.1 The Basic Equation of Fluid Statics

dy

p y
dxdz j
y 2

dz

p y
dxdz j
y 2

dx
Pressure,p
y Fig. 3.1 Differential fluid element and pressure
forces in the y direction
x
The objective is to obtain an equation that will enable us
to determine the pressure field within a static fluid.

Two general types of forces may be applied to a fluid: body

forces and surface forces.

The body force, Cartesian coordinate: dF g

dm gdV

dF

gdm gdxdydz

In a static fluid no shear stresses can be present. Thus the

only surface force is the pressure force.
Let the pressure in the center, o, of the element be p.
The pressure at the left face of the differential element is:

p
p y
p y

pL p
yL y p p

y
y
2
y 2
The pressure on the right face:
p
p y

pR p
yR y p

y
y 2

Each pressure forces is a product of three factors. The

magnitude is multiplied by the area of the face to give the
magnitude of the pressure force and a unit vector is
introduced to indicate direction.
A positive pressure corresponds to a compressive
normal stress.

Combining all forces gives the net surface force acting on

the element. Thus

p dx
p dx

dFs p
dydz i p
dydz i
x 2
x 2

p dy
p
dxdz
y 2

p dz

p
dxdy
z 2

j p p

k p p
z

dy
dxdz j
2

dz
dxdy k
2

Collecting and cancelling terms, we obtain

p
p p

dFs i
j
k dxdydz
y
z
x

p p p
Or
dF
i
j
k dxdydz
(3.1a) s
y
z
x

In rectangular coordinate

p
gradp p i

j p k p i j k p
y
z x
y
z

d Fs gradp dxdydz p(dxdydz )

(3.1b)

The combination of the surface and body forces (total

forces) acting on a fluid element could be written as:

d F d Fs d FB ( gradp g ) dxdydz ( p g )( dV )
dF
gradp g
dV

(3.2)

For a fluid particle, Newtons second law gives:

d F adm adV

For a static fluid, where a = 0, then

dF
a 0 gradp g 0
dV

(3.3)

 -grad

p is the net pressure force per unit volume

at a point, where
g is the body force per unit volume at a point
In three directions of Cartesian coordinate:
p

g x 0( x direction )
x
p

g y 0( y direction )
y

g z 0( z direction )
(3.4)
z
gx and gy are zero, gz in the z direction then:
p
p
p

0;
0; g
(3.5)
x
y
z
p
(3.6)
g ( specific weight )
z

Restrictions:
1.
Static fluid
2.
Gravity is the only body force
3.
The z axis is vertical and upward.
The equation is the basic pressure-height relation of
fluid statics.
Pressure reading is the difference between the measured
pressure and the ambient level (atmospheric pressure).
Pressure levels measured with respect to the
atmospheric pressure are termed gage pressures. Thus:
Pabsolute = Pgage + Patmosphere

Pressure level
Pgage
Pabs
Patm
vacuum

3.2 Pressure Variation in a Static Fluid

For an incompressible fluid ( constant), and for constant

p
gravity:

g constant

If the pressure at the reference level, z0, is designated as

p0, then the pressure, p, at location z is found by
p
z
integration:

p0

dp

z0

gdz

or p p0 g ( z z 0 ) g ( z0 z )
( z0 z ) h, hence
p p0 gh

(3.7)

Eq. 3.7 indicates that the pressure difference between 2

points in a static fluid can be determined by measuring the
elevation difference between two points. Devices used for
this purpose are called manometers.

h1

h2

U-tube manometer for measuring gage pressure at A

p A p1 1 g ( z1 z A ) 1 gh1

and p1 p2 2 g ( z 2 z1 ) 2 gh2
adding together, hence p A p2 2 gh2 1 gh1
since p2 patm , then p A p2 p gage

Rules of thumb:
Any two points at the same elevation in a
continuous volume of the same liquid are at the
same pressure.
Pressure increases as one goes down a liquid
column (remember the pressure change on
diving into a swimming pool)

Example

3.1 Multiple Liquid Manometer

Water flows through pipes A and B. Oil with
specific gravity 0.8 is in the upper portion of
the inverted U. Mercury (SG 13.6) is in the
bottom of the manometer bends. Determine
the pressure difference, pA pB, in units of
kPa.
Example 3.2 Reservoir Manometer
A reservoir manometer is built with a tube
diameter of 10 mm and a reservoir diameter
of 30 mm. The manometer liquid is Meriam
red oil. Determine the manometer sensitivity
i.e. the deflections in mm per mm of water
applied pressure differential.

US Standard
Atmosphere

Sea Level Conditions of the US Standard

Atmosphere
Property

Symbol

Value

Temperature

15 oC

Pressure

101.3 kPa(abs)

Density

1.225 kg/m3

Viscosity

1.781x10-5 kg/ms (Pa.s)

Example 3.3 Pressure and Density Variation

in The Atmosphere
The maximum power output capability of an
internal combustion engine decreases with
altitude because the air density and hence the
mass flow rate of air decrease. A truck leave
Denver (elevation 1610 m) on a day when the
local temperature and barometric pressure are
27 oC and 630 mmHg, respectively. It travels
through Vail Pass (elevation 3230 m) where the
temperature is 17 oC. Determine the local
barometric pressure at Vail Pass and the percent
change in density if the temperature is assumed
to be a linear function of altitude.

3.14 The Martian atmosphere behaves as

an ideal gas with mean molecular mass of
32 kg/kgmol and constant temperature of
200 K. The atmospheric density at the
planet surface is = 0.015 kg/m3 and
Martian gravity is 3.92 m/s2. Calculate the
density of the Martian atmosphere at
height z = 20 km above the surface.

3.5 Hydrostatic Force on Submerged Surfaces

In order to determine completely the resultant
force acting on a submerged surface, we must
specify:
1. The magnitude of the force
2. The direction of the force
3. The line of action of the force

3.5.1 Hydrostatic Force on a Plane

Submerged Surface
Example 3.4 Computing Equations for Pressure
Force and Point of Application on Plane
Submerged Surface
Consider a plane surface submerged in a liquid
with free surface at atmospheric pressure. (a)
Show the hydrostatic force on the upper face of
any plane submerged surface is equal to the
pressure at the centroid times the area of the
surface and (b) derive expressions for the
coordinates of the center of pressure in terms of
the geometric parameters of the surface.

Example 3.5 Resultant Force on Inclined Plane

Submerged Surface
The inclined surface shown, hinged along edge A, is 5 m
wide. Determine the resultant force, F R, of the water and
the air on the inclined surface.

Example 3.6 Force on Vertical Plane Submerged

Surface with Nonzero Gage Pressure at Free Surface
The door shown in the side of the tank is hinged along its
bottom edge. A pressure of 5 kPa (gage) is applied to the
liquid free surface. Find the force Fl required to keep the
door closed.

3.5.2 Hydrostatic Force on a Curved

Submerged Surface
Determining

the hydrostatic force on a curved

submerged surface is slightly more involved than
calculating the force on a plane surface.
The curvature makes the directions of pressure
force on each elements different.
Generally, we concern only the forces in vertical
and horizontal directions.
With free surface at atmospheric pressure, the
vertical component of the resultant hydrostatic
force on a curved submerge surface is equal to
the total weight of the liquid directly above the
surface.