CE 326 HYDRAULICS

PRINCIPLES OF HYDROSTATICS

UNIT PRESSURE or PRESSURE, P

Pressure is the force per unit area exerted by a liquid or gas on a body or surface, with the force
acting at right angles to the surface uniformly in all directions.

PASCAL’S LAW
Pascal’s Law, introduced by French mathematician Blaise Pascal, states that “in a fluid at rest in a
closed container, a pressure change in one part is transmitted without loss to every portion of the fluid
and to the walls of the container”.

He also enunciated that “any two points at the same elevation in a continuous mass of the same
static fluid will be at the same pressure”.

 Gauge Pressure (Relative Pressure)

Gauge Pressures are pressures above or below the atmosphere and can be measured by pressure
gauges or manometers. For small pressure differences, a U-tube manometer is used.

 Atmospheric Pressure
Atmospheric Pressure is the pressure at any point on the earth’s surface from the weight of the air
above it.
Under normal conditions at sea level:
𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑠 𝑃𝐺
𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑚

Mercury Barometer
A mercury barometer is an accurate and relatively simple way to
measure changes in atmospheric pressure. At sea level, the weight of the
atmosphere forces mercury 760 mm (29.9 in) up a calibrated glass tube.
Higher elevations yield lower readings because atmosphere is less dense
there, and the thinner air exerts less pressure on the mercury.

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Aneroid Barometer
In an aneroid barometer, a partially evacuated metal drum
expands or contracts in response 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.

 Absolute Pressure
The intensity of pressure measured above absolute zero is called absolute pressure. Obviously, a
negative absolute pressure is impossible.

*NOTE: Unless otherwise specified in the problem, the term pressure signifies gage pressure.

VARIATIONS OF PRESSURE WITH DEPTH IN A FLUID

The difference in pressure between any two points in a homogenous fluid at 1
rest is equal to the product of the unit weight of the fluid and the vertical distance h
between the points.
2

The pressure at any point below the free surface of a liquid equals the product
of the unit weight of the liquid and the depth of the point.
h

Pressure below Layers of Different Liquids

Air, Pressure = P
Liquid 1 𝑃𝐵𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚 𝛾 𝑃

Liquid 2 𝑃𝐵𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚 𝛾 𝛾 𝛾3 3 𝑃

Liquid 3
3

𝑃𝐵𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚

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PRESSURE HEAD
Pressure Head is the height “h” of a column at homogenous liquid of unit weight Ƴ that will produce an
intensity of pressure P.

To convert pressure head of liquid A to liquid B.

or or

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

MANOMETER
A 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 of pressure. It is used to measure pressure.

Type of Manometer

1. Open Type – has an atmospheric surface in one leg and is capable of measuring gage pressures

2. Differential Type – without an atmospheric surface and capable of measuring only differences in pressure

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3. Piezometer – the simplest form of open manometer. It is a tube tapped into a wall of a container or conduit
for the purpose of measuring pressure. The fluid in the container or conduit rises in this tube to form a free
surface.

Steps in Solving Manometer Problems:

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 homogenous 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 (if going down) or subtracting (if going up) pressure heads as the
elevation decreases or increases, respectively with due regard for the specific gravity of the fluids.

Illustrative Problems:

1. What is the pressure 34 meters below the ocean?

2. If the pressure at a point in the ocean is 60 kPa, what is the pressure 27 meters below this point.
3. A tank contains 0.8 m deep of water and 0.6 m of oil having specific gravity of 0.82. What is the pressure at
the bottom of the tank?
4. In the figure shown, the tank contains water and immiscible oil. What is h in cm if the density of the oil is 898
kg/cu.m?

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5. On the figure shown, the atmospheric pressure is 101.33 kPa and the pressure at the bottom of the tank is
242 kPa absolute. What is the specific gravity of fluid X?

6. A pressure gage 6 m above the bottom of the tank containing a liquid reads 90 kPa; another gage height 4 m
reads 103 kPa. Determine the specific weight of the liquid.
7. Piston A has a cross section of 1200 cm2 while that of B is 800 cm2. B is higher than A by 2 m. if the
intervening passages are filled with oil having specific gravity of 0.8 and a force of 4 KN is acting on B, what
must be the pressure and the force exerted at A?

8. In the figure, the right leg of the manometer is open to the atmosphere. Find the gage pressure, in Pa, in the
air gap in the tank.

9. In the figure shown, pressure gage A reads 1.5 kPa (gage). Determine the elevation of the fluid surface at
piezometer tubes B and C.

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10. A mercury manometer is connected at two points to a horizontal waterpipe flow. If the manometer reading
is h=35 cm, what is the pressure drop between the two points?

11. In the figure shown, the pressure at point A is 25 psi. What is the air pressure in the closed chamber B in Pa?

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