Buoyancy

Brian G. Higgins∗
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
University of California
Davis, CA 95616

May 30, 2013

Introduction
According to Archimedes, an object immersed in a fluid displaces the same
volume of fluid as the volume of that object, and is consequently buoyed up
by a force equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. Hence, if the mass of the
liquid displaced is less (greater) than the mass of the object, the object will
sink (float). We will show that the buoyant force can be analyzed using the
equations of hydrostatics and is a result of two effects: (i) the variation of
hydrostatic pressure with depth, and (ii) an unbalanced upward force acting
on the bottom of a submerged object.
Buoyancy is the reason why a heavy ocean liner can float. What matters
is not only the weight of an object, but also the amount of fluid it displaces.

Analysis
The buoyant force is essentially caused by the difference between the pressure
at the top of the object, which acts downward, and the pressure at the
bottom, which acts upward. Since the pressure at the bottom is always
greater than at the top, every object submerged in a fluid necessarily feels
an upward buoyant force. We will use the equations of statics to analysis
this phenomenon.
Consider a completely submerged aluminum cylinder of length l, and
radius R, oriented vertically in a fluid bath of depth L , as illustrated in
Figure 1. The top surface of the cylinder is a distance h1 below the liquid
∗
email: bghiggins@ucdavis.edu

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 Figure 1: Forces acting on a submerged cylinder

surface. The force acting on the top surface due to hydrostatics is

Z Z
F top = t (nn) dA = − n T p dA (1)
AT AT

From the equations of hydrostatics the pressure field in the fluid is given by
∂p
= −ρ g, p = p0 at z = L (2)
∂z
Solving for p(z) gives
p(z) = p0 + ρ g(L − z) (3)
Substituting the expression for p(z) into Eq. (1) evaluated at z = L − h1
gives
Z
F top = − n T (p0 + ρ g h1 )dA
AT
(4)

nt π R2 (p0 + ρ g h1 )
= −n
The force acting on the bottom surface of the cylinder is
Z
F bot = − nB π R2 (p0 + ρ g(h1 + l))
n B p dA = −n (5)
AB

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Recall that n T = −n
nB = k and thus the net vertical force on the cylinder is

nT π R2 ((p0 + ρ g h1 ) − (p0 + ρ g(h1 + l))

F net = F top + F bot = −n

= n T π R2 ρ g l = k ρ g π R2 l (6)

= k ρ g V = k γwater V

where γwater is the specific weight of water. Thus there is a net buoyant force
acting upwards (positive z direction) equal to the weight of the displaced
water.
Now suppose that the aluminum cylinder has a specific weight of γcal .
Recall that 1 m3 of water at 4◦ C has a density of 1000 kg/m3 . Thus the
specific weight of water is
kg m N
γwater = ρwater g = 1000 × 9.810 2 = 9810 3 (7)
m3 s m
Thus our aluminum cylinder immersed in water would not ’weigh’ γcyl V .
It would weigh less due to the fact it has a buoyant force of γwater V from
the fluid. So its net weight would be (γcyl − γwater )V while immersed in the
fluid.

Buoyant Force on an Arbitrary Shaped Body

The above analysis can be extended to an arbitrary shaped body using the
projected area theorem for integration. Consider and arbitrary shaped body
that is separated into two regions by a plane. The upper surface of the body
is denoted by z2 , the lower surface by z1 Now the net force due to the
hydrostatic pressure acting on the submerged body is
Z Z
F net = − n 2 p(z2 ) dA − n 1 p(z1 ) dA (8)
A2 A1

where p(z2 ) is the pressure acting on the upper surface, and p(z1 ) the pres-
sure acting on the lower surface. The component of this force in the k -
direction gives the buoyancy force:
Z Z
Fbuoy = F net · k = − p(z2 ) n 2 · k dA − n1 · k dA
p(z1 )n (9)
A2 A1

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 Figure 2: Forces acting on an arbitrary shaped body

Now from the projected area theorem, we have that

n 2 · k dA = dAz , n 1 · k dA = −dAz (10)

where dAz is the projection of dA onto the x − y plane shown in Figure 2.

Using this result in Eq. (9) gives the magnitude of the buoyant force (the
component of the force acting in the vertical direction):
Z Z
Fbuoy = F net · k = − p(z2 ) dAz + p(z1 ) dAz (11)
Az Az

Recall that the hydrostatic pressure at any point z in the fluid is

p(z) = p0 + ρ g(L − z), where p = −p0 at z = L (12)

Substituting this result into Eq. (11) gives

Z
Fbuoy = ρ g(z2 − z1 )dAz (13)
Az

Now since ρ g is constant we can write

Z
Fbuoy = ρ g (z2 − z1 )dAz (14)
Az

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The integral is the volume of the solid (see notes on Surface Integrals)
Z
Va = (z2 − z1 )dAz (15)
Az

Thus the buoyant force becomes

Fbuoy = ρ g Va (16)
This shows that the body is buoyed up by the weight of the displaced fluid.

Examples
Example 1:
A submerged spherical buoy is tethered to the river floor with a cable. De-
termine the tension in the cable. To solve this problem we need to determine
the buoyant force on the buoy.
Fbuoy = ρliq g Vsolid (17)
The weight of the buoy is
Fsolid = ρsolid g Vsolid (18)
For the buoy to be in equilibrium, tension in the cable T that pulls down
the buoy is
T = Fsolid − Fbuoy = (γsolid − γliq )Vsolid (19)
where γliq = ρliq g is the specific weight of the liquid, and γsolid = ρsolid g is
the specific weight of the buoy.

Example 2:
Consider a cylinder with radius R and height l that is partially submerged
in a liquid. Let h1 be the height of the cylinder that extends above the
liquid surface (see Figure 3)

Let us compute the buoyant force acting on the cylinder. The force acting
on the top exposed surface is
Z
F top = − nT ({p0 + ρA g(L − (L − h1 )))} dA
AT
(20)

nT π R2 (p0 − ρA g h1 )
= −n

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 Figure 3: Buoyant force on partially submerged cylinder

The force acting on the bottom surface is

Z
F bot = − n B p dA
AB

(21)
nB π R2 {p0 + ρL g(L − (L − (l − h1 )))}
= −n

nB π R2 {p0 + ρL g(l − h1 )}
= −n
Thus the net force acting on the cylinder is

F top + F bot ) · k = π R2 (ρA g h1 + ρL g(l − h1 ))

Fnet = (F (22)

This shows that the buoyant force is equal to the weight of the displaced
liquid plus the weight of the displaced air. Since normally ρL >> ρA , we
can approximate the buoyant force as the weight of the displaced liquid.

Fnet = π R2 (ρL g(l − h1 )) = ρL Vcyl (23)

Final Remarks
The above development can be found in most textbooks on fluid mechanics.
The following references were helpful in preparing these notes.

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References
[1] G. K. Batchelor, Introduction to Fluid Dynamics, Cambridge University
Press,1967

[2] A. Esposito, Fluid Mechanics with Applications, Prentice Hall,1998

[3] F. S. Sherman, Viscous Flow, McGraw-Hill, 1990

[4] S. Whitaker, Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, Kreiger Publishing

Co.,1968