John Calvin Rey L.
Elid ME 3244 (5 – 832)
Experiment 2
Determination of Hydrostatic Forces and Center of Pressure of Submerged
Surfaces Pre-Laboratory Report
Objectives
The objectives of the laboratory experiment are to determine the hydrostatic force
exerted on a plane lamina submerged in a fluid and to determine the center of pressure
associated with this force. By conducting this investigation, the aim is to comprehend the
principles underlying hydrostatics and their practical application in analyzing submerged
surfaces.
Instruments
In order to perform this experiment, the following instruments are needed:
Hydrostatic Pressure Apparatus with accessories (ESSOM, HB 012)
Electronic Weighing Scale
Ruler or Vernier Caliper
Equations/Analytical Calculations
To calculate the Total pressure (or Hydrostatic Force), on a plane lamina:
𝑷 = 𝜸 𝑨 𝒙̅
To calculate Center of Pressure for:
Horizontally immersed lamina: 𝒉̅ = 𝒙̅
Vertically immersed lamina: 𝒉̅ = 𝒙̅ +
𝑰𝑮
𝑨̅𝒙
Inclined lamina: 𝒉̅ = 𝒙̅ + 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝟐 𝜽
𝑰𝑮
𝑨̅𝒙
For Experiment Procedure 5.1:
𝑷×𝒚=𝑾×𝑺
For Experiment Procedure 5.2:
𝒉̅ = (𝒚 − 𝒓) − (𝒅 − 𝒉)
Where:
𝑃 = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝐻𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
𝐴 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒
𝑥̅ = 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝐴 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 ℎ̅ = 𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒
𝐼𝐺 = moment of inertia of the immersed portion of lamina
about its centroidal axis parallel to free surface
𝑦 = 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒
𝑊 = 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟
𝑆 = 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑛
𝑑 = 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑟 = 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒
𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑚
Tabulation of Data Acquired:
Experiment Procedure 5.1
Trial 1
CASES Weights (kg)
h<d
h=d
h>d
Trial 2
CASES Weights (kg)
h<d
h=d
h>d
Trial 3
CASES Weights (kg)
h<d
h=d
h>d
Experiment Procedure 5.2
r=
S=
b=
d=
Trial 1
Total Pressure,
Weight (kg) Water depth, h y �
P
̅
�
Trial 2
�
Total Pressure,
�
Weight (kg) Water depth, h y
P
̅
Trial 3
�
Total Pressure,
�
Weight (kg) Water depth, h y
P
Pre-Laboratory Exercise
• What do you mean by the center of pressure? What are the uses of locating it? Name
some engineering examples of applications of the center of pressure.
In objects interacting with fluids, such as airplanes, various pressure differences
create forces all over the body. The center of pressure is where the average
pressure force acts. This point is crucial because it’s where the lift and drag
forces are concentrated. For example, in aircraft design, engineers must locate
this center to ensure they distribute lift evenly across the wings and fuselage,
allowing for stable flight [1].
• Give relative position of the center of pressure with reference to the center of gravity for
plane surface immersed.
For a horizontal plane surface immersed in fluid, the4 center of pressure is
located where the center of gravity is located. This is because the pressure
intensity across the surface remains constant, the total pressure will flow
through the centroid of the surface.
For a vertical plane surface immersed in fluid, the center of pressure is always
below the centroid of the surface. It is found by integrating all the pressures
from top to bottom caused by the fluid to the plane surface, and calculating its
Ig
centroid. This results to the equation h=x+ , where h is the location of the
Ax
center of pressure from the surface of the liquid, x is the center of mass of the
plane surface, I g is the moment of inertia of the plane surface, and A is the area
Ig
perpendicular to pressure. Because is always positive, this suggests that h
Ax
Ig
is always lower than the plane surfaces’ center of mass x .
Ax
For an inclined plane surface immersed in fluid, the vertical distance from the
Ig
surface of the fluid, to the center of pressure still results to h=x+ when
Ax
derived. This means that its center of pressure is still located below the surface’s
center of gravity. [2]
REFERENCES:
[1] National Air and Space Museum, “What is center of pressure?”. 12 Feb 2017.
Available: [Link]
[2] “Course Code and Title: CLEC 306 FLUID MECHANICS Topic: HYDROSTATICS
(Total Pressure on Plane Surface) HYDROSTATICS.” Retrieved from:
[Link]
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