HO CHI MINH CITY NANTIONAL UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

HYDRAULIC MECHANICS LAB REPORT

COURSE: HYDRAULIC MECHANICS
LAB 2:
MEASUREMENT OF PRESSURE FORCE ON PLATE
CLASS CC02- GROUP 3 – HK251
Instructor: Vương Thị Hồng Nhi
 HO CHI MINH CITY NANTIONAL UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

LIST OF MEMBERS
No. Full Name Student’s ID
1 Đặng Anh Huy 2452374
2 Lê Quang Thắng 2453187
3 Nguyễn Lê Phúc Khang 2452466
4 Trần Minh Khang 2452478

CONTRIBUTION LIST
No. Full Name Experiment Report Total
(%) (%) (%)
1 Đặng Anh Huy 25 25 25
2 Lê Quang Thắng 25 25 25
3 Nguyễn Lê Phúc Khang 25 25 25
4 Trần Minh Khang 25 25 25

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 Table of Contents
I. Objectives ................................................................................................................................................. 4
II. Equipment and Theoretical Background............................................................................................. 4
Equipment ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Theoretical Background ......................................................................................................................... 5
III. Experimental Setup Instructions ........................................................................................................ 7
IV. Experimental Procedure ....................................................................................................................... 8
References .................................................................................................................................................... 9

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I. Objectives
- This experiment helps students experimentally determine the position of the hydrostatic
pressure center acting on the plane surface of a rectangular or annular section when it is
fully or partially submerged in water.
- Students will identify the line of pressure centers and compare the experimental results
of these positions with the theoretical values calculated using the corresponding formulas.

II. Equipment and Theoretical Background

Equipment
Hydrostatic Pressure Apparatus

The experimental apparatus shown in the figure consists of:

- A small transparent water tank made of glass.
- A pivot mounted at the top of the tank.
- A lever arm attached to the pivot.
- One end of the lever arm is connected to a movable weight, which can be
adjusted to vary its distance from the pivot.
- The other end is attached to a quarter-circle plate with marked graduations, a
rectangular cross-section, and a hook for hanging masses (m).
- A drain valve is located at the bottom of the tank to release water.
- A water inlet pipe is provided for filling the tank.
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Theoretical Background
The hydrostatic pressure does not vary horizontally at a given (submerged) depth, but it
changes with the depth of submersion. This pressure is calculated as the product of the
specific weight of the fluid and the depth of submersion.
The total hydrostatic force acting on the cross-section of the annular plate is not linearly
distributed along the vertical direction. When the ¼ annular block is submerged in water,
the hydrostatic force acting on its surface can be determined as follows:
The hydrostatic forces acting on the outer and inner curved surfaces, which are normal to
those surfaces, all pass through the pivot axis (the center of the annular radius). Therefore,
these forces produce no moment and do not affect the equilibrium equation.
The hydrostatic forces on the two side faces of the ¼ annular block cancel each other out.
Hence, the hydrostatic force acting on the submerged rectangular plane surface is equal to
the balancing weight (W).
More specifically, the magnitude of the hydrostatic force acting on the plane surface can
be calculated as the product of the balancing weight (W) and the depth of submersion of
the surface in water, according to the following formula:
When the system reaches equilibrium, the moment generated at the pivot point is:
𝑚 × 𝑔 × 𝐿 = 𝐹 × ℎ" (1)
Where:
m (kg): added mass
g (9.81 m×s −2 ): gravitational acceleration
L (m): the lever-arm distance from the mass suspension point to the pivot center
F (N): hydrostatic force
h’’ (m): distance from the pivot center to the center of pressure
Thus, by calculating the hydrostatic force and the height (position) of this center of
pressure relative to the outer curved surface of the quarter-annular block, we can compare
the experimental results with the values computed from the theoretical formulas.

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i. The plane surface is partially submerged in water:

Diagram of a plane surface partially submerged in water

Where
H: distance from the pivot center to the outer surface of the ¼ annular block
h’: depth of the hydrostatic pressure center
d: depth of submersion
D and B are the height and width of the cross-sectional surface, respectively.

Hydrostatic force acting on the cross-sectional surface is given by:

𝐹 = 𝜌×𝑔×𝐴×ℎ (2)
Where:
A =B×d
h = d/2
(2) becomes: 𝐹 = (1/2) × 𝜌 × 𝑔 × 𝐵 × 𝑑 2 (3)
The center of pressure can be determined experimentally as follows:
Using the moment equilibrium equation (1), the pressure center h’’ is calculated by:
ℎ" = 2 × 𝑚 × 𝐿 ∕ (𝜌 × 𝐵 × 𝑑 2 ) (4)
The theoretical value of the center of pressure acting on the plane surface is
determined by:
ℎ" = 𝐻 − (𝑑 ∕ 3) (5)

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 ii. The plane surface is fully submerged in water:

Diagram of a plane surface fully submerged in water

Similarly, the hydrostatic force acting on the plane surface is calculated as:
𝐹 = 𝜌 × 𝑔 × 𝐵 × 𝐷 × (𝑑 − 𝐷 ∕ 2) (6)
The experimental value of the center of pressure acting on the plane surface is determined
as:
ℎ" = (𝑚 × 𝐿)/[𝜌 × 𝐵 × 𝐷 × (𝑑 − 𝐷 ∕ 2)] (7)
The theoretical value of the center of pressure acting on the plane surface is calculated as:
𝐷2 𝐷 2
+(ⅆ− )
ℎ" = 12
𝐷
2
+𝐻−𝐷 (8)
ⅆ−
2

III. Experimental Setup Instructions

Step 1: Measure the values of B, D, L, and H.
Step 2: Place and level the empty water tank on the laboratory bench using the adjusting
screws underneath and the spirit level to ensure that the tank surface is perfectly
horizontal.
Step 3: Mount the lever arm with the attached ¼ annular plate onto the knife-edge pivot,
and check that the lever arm can rotate freely around the knife-edge axis.
Step 4: Attach the mass hanger at the designated position and move the balancing weight
until the lever arm is horizontally balanced (verify that the center pointer aligns with the
“0” mark on the scale).

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 IV. Experimental Procedure
After completing the inspection steps in Section III, proceed with the experiment as
follows:
Step 1: Add a small mass (usually 50 g) to the mass hanger, then slowly fill the tank with
water until the lever arm reaches equilibrium.
Step 2: When the lever arm is horizontally balanced, record the depth of submersion
using the scale on the ¼ annular block.
Step 3: Repeat Step 2 by adding additional masses each time, continuing the process until
the water level reaches the maximum value on the scale.
All the following parameters should be recorded:
D= 0,1 (m)
B= 0,075 (m)
L= 0,275 (m)
H= 0,2 (m)
Added Moment Submergence Hydrostatic h” (m) h” (m) Difference
mass (N  m) depth-d (m) force-F (N) experimental theoretical (m)
(kg)
Partially 0.05 0.1349 0.044 0.7122 0.1894 0.1853 0.0041
Submerged 0.1 0.2698 0.064 1.5068 0.17904 0.1787 0.0003
0.15 0.4047 0.079 2.2959 0.1763 0.1737 0.0026
0.16 0.4316 0.082 2.4736 0.1745 0.1727 0.0018
0.17 0.4586 0.085 2.6579 0.1725 0.1717 0.0008
0.18 0.4856 0.087 2.7844 0.1744 0.1710 0.0034
0.19 0.5126 0.09 2.9798 0.17202 0.1700 0.00202
Fully 0.24 0.6475 0.119 5.0767 0.1275 0.1621 0.0346
Submerged 0.29 0.7823 0.132 6.0331 0.1297 0.1602 0.0305
0.30 0.8093 0.134 6.1803 0.1310 0.1599 0.0289
0.31 0.8363 0.136 6.3275 0.1322 0.1597 0.0275
0.32 0.8633 0.138 6.4746 0.1333 0.1595 0.0262
0.33 0.8903 0.140 6.6218 0.1344 0.1593 0.0249
0.34 0.9172 0.144 6.9161 0.1326 0.1589 0.0263

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References
1. Video: Hydrostatic Pressure on a Plane Surface (Lecturer: Trần Hải):
[Link]
2. Instructor: Vương Thị Hồng Nhi
3. Instruction Manual (Lecturer: Trần Hải):
[Link]
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BB%80%20M%E1%BA%B6T%20PH%E1%BA%[Link]