Fluid Statics

A fluid particle, is defined as a body of fluid having finite mass and

internal structure but negligible dimensions.
The hydrostatic condition means that each fluid particle is in force
equilibrium with the net force due to pressure balancing the weight of
the fluid particle.

Definition of Pressure

Pressure (3.1)
defined as the ratio of normal force to area at a point.
Pressure is the ratio of normal force magnitude to unit area at a point:

The reason that pressure is defined using a derivative is that pressure

often varies from point to point.
Pressure is a scalar quantity; that is, it has magnitude only. Pressure is
not a force rather it is a scalar that produces a resultant force by its
action on an area.
Units for pressure
 Newtons per square meter of area, or pascals (Pa), is the SI unit
for pressure give a ratio of force to area.
 The traditional units include psi, which is pounds-force per square
inch, and psf, which is pounds-force per square foot.
 Other units for pressure give the height of a column of liquid.
 Standard atmospheric pressure, which is the air pressure at sea
level, can be written using multiple units:

Absolute Pressure, Gage Pressure, and Vacuum Pressure

Definitions:
Absolute Pressure
referenced to regions such as outer space, where the pressure is
essentially zero because the region is devoid of gas. The pressure in a
perfect vacuum is called absolute zero, and pressure measured relative
to these zero pressures is termed absolute pressure.
Gage Pressure
When pressure is measured relative to prevailing local
atmospheric pressure, the pressure value is called gage pressure.
Vacuum Pressure
When pressure is less than atmospheric, the pressure can be
described using vacuum pressure. It is defined as the difference
between atmospheric pressure and actual pressure. Vacuum pressure
is a positive number and equals the absolute value of gage pressure
(which will be negative).
Formulas:

Hydraulic Machines
 A hydraulic machine uses components such as pistons,
pumps, and hoses to transmit forces and energy using fluids.
 Hydraulic machines provide an example of Pascal’s law. This
law states that pressure applied to an enclosed and
continuous body of fluid is transmitted undiminished to
every portion of that fluid and to the walls of the containing
vessel.
 Hydraulic machines provide mechanical advantage.

Pressure Variation with Elevation (3.2)

This section shows how equations for pressure variation are
derived and applied. The results are used throughout fluid mechanics.
Hydrostatic Differential Equation
The hydrostatic differential equation is derived by applying force
equilibrium to a static body of fluid.
hydrostatic differential equation:
Hydrostatic Equation
The hydrostatic equation is used to predict pressure variation in a
fluid with constant density.
Hydrostatic equation is given by

These three equations are equivalent because any one of the equations
can be used to derive the other two. The hydrostatic equation is valid
for any constant density fluid in hydrostatic equilibrium.
Hydrostatic Equation contains:
Piezometric head
and,
Piezometric pressure

In calculating piezometric head or piezometric pressure, an engineer

identifies a specific location in a body of fluid and then uses the value of
pressure and elevation at that location. Piezometric pressure and head
are related by

Pressure Variation in the Atmosphere

Equations for pressure variation in the earth’s atmosphere are
derived by integrating the hydrostatic differential equation.
To begin the derivation, write the ideal gas law
Multiply by g:

Pressure Variation in the Troposphere

the atmospheric pressure variation in the troposphere is

Pressure Variation in the Lower Stratosphere

the atmospheric pressure variation in the stratosphere takes the form

Pressure Measurements (3.3)

Describing the five scientific instruments for measuring pressure: the
barometer, Bourdon-tube gage, piezometer, manometer, and
transducer.
Barometer
 An instrument that is used to measure atmospheric pressure.
 Most common types are the mercury barometer and the aneroid
barometer.
A mercury barometer is made by inverting a mercury-filled tube
in a container of mercury
 The mercury barometer is analyzed by applying the hydrostatic
equation:

Aneroid barometer
 works mechanically.
 an elastic bellows that has been tightly sealed after some air was
removed.
 When atmospheric pressure changes, this causes the aneroid to
change size, and this mechanical change can be used to deflect a
needle to indicate local atmospheric pressure on a scale.

Bourdon-Tube Gage
  measures pressure by sensing the deflection of a coiled tube.
 When pressure is applied to the gage, the curved tube tends to
straighten (much like blowing into a party favor to straighten it
out), thereby actuating the pointer to read a positive gage
pressure.
 It is common because it is low cost, reliable, easy to install, and
available in many different pressure ranges.

Piezometer
 is a vertical tube, usually transparent, in which a liquid rises in
response to a positive gage pressure.
 has several advantages: simplicity, direct measurement (no need
for calibration), and accuracy.
 cannot easily be used for measuring pressure in a gas
 is limited to low pressures because the column height becomes
too large at high pressures.

Manometer
 often shaped like the letter “U”
 a device for measuring pressure by raising or lowering a column of
liquid.
 engineers relate the height of the liquid in the manometer to
pressure to use the manometer.
The general equation for the pressure difference measured by the
manometer is:
Pressure Transducers
 is a device that converts pressure to an electrical signal.
 designed to produce electronic signals that can be transmitted to
oscillographs or digital devices for record-keeping or to control
other devices for process operation.
 piezoelectric transducer another type of pressure transducer
used for measuring rapidly changing high pressures.
 piezoelectric transducer operates with a quartz crystal that
generates a charge when subjected to a pressure.

Forces on Plane Surfaces (Panels) (3.4)

Uniform Pressure Distribution
 pressure is the same at every point
 Pressure distribution - description of the pressure at all points
along a surface.
Magnitude of Resultant Hydrostatic Force
 A fluid in contact with a surface produces a pressure distribution
on the surface. This pressure distribution can be represented as a
statically equivalent force F acting at the center of pressure. For a
plane surface, the equivalent force is

Line of Action of the Resultant Force

 For a horizontal surface, the center of pressure is at the centroid.
Otherwise, the slant distance between the centroid and the
center of pressure ycp is given by
Hydrostatic Pressure Distribution
 When a pressure distribution is produced by a fluid in hydrostatic
equilibrium

 a hydrostatic pressure distribution is linear and that the arrows

representing pressure act normal to the surface.

Forces on Curved Surfaces (3.5)

 When a surface is curved, one can find the equivalent force by
applying force equilibrium to a free body comprised of the fluid in
contact with the surface.

Buoyancy (3.6)
 A buoyant force is defined as the upward force that is produced
on a body that is totally or partially submerged in a fluid when the
fluid is in a gravity field.
 Buoyant forces are sometimes significant in problems involving
gases
 Examples include surface ships, sediment transport in rivers, and
fish migration.
 The Buoyant Force Equation
When an object is either partially or totally submerged in
a fluid, a buoyant force FB acts. The magnitude is equal to the weight
of the displaced volume of fluid:

The Hydrometer

 an instrument for measuring the specific

gravity of liquids.
 typically made of a glass bulb that is
weighted on one end so the hydrometer
floats in an upright position.
 The operating principle of the hydrometer
is buoyancy.

Stability of Immersed and Floating Bodies (3.7)

 When a body is completely immersed in a liquid, its stability

depends on the relative positions of the center of gravity of the
body and the centroid of the displaced volume of fluid, which is
called the center of buoyancy.
 For a fluid with a uniform density, the center of buoyancy is the
centroid of the displaced volume of fluid.
 When an object is floating, it may be unstable or stable. Stable
means that if the object is tipped, the buoyant force causes a
moment that rotates the object back to its equilibrium position.
An object is stable if the metacentric height is positive. In this case
tipping the object causes the center of buoyancy to move such
that the buoyant force produces a righting moment.
CHAPTER 4
Flowing Fluids and Pressure Variation
Descriptions of Fluid Motion (4.1)
 Streamline - is a curve everywhere tangent to the local velocity
vector.
 Flow pattern - The configuration of streamlines in a flow field.
 The pathline - the line traced out by a particle.
 A streakline - the line produced by a dye introduced at a point in
the field.
 In steady flow the pathline, streakline, and streamline are
coincident if they pass through the same point.
 Dividing streamline - The streamline that follows the flow di-
vision.
 Stagnation point - At the location where the dividing streamline
intersects the body, the velocity will be zero with respect to the
body.

Laminar and Turbulent Flow

 Laminar flow is a well-ordered state

of flow in which adjacent fluid layers
move smoothly with respect to each
other.
 Laminar flow in a pipe has a smooth,
parabolic velocity distribution
  Turbulent flow is an unsteady flow
characterized by intense cross-stream
mixing.

One-Dimensional and Multi-Dimensional Flows

 The dimensionality of a flow field is characterized by the number
of spatial dimensions needed to describe the velocity field.
 quasi–one–dimensional flow - Another definition frequently used
in fluid mechanics. it is assumed that there is only one component
of velocity in the flow direction and that the velocity profiles are
uniformly distributed.
Acceleration (4.2)
 is the rate of change of the particle’s velocity with time.
 Local acceleration - The variation of velocity with time at a point
on the pathline.
 Convective acceleration - the variation of velocity along the
pathline.
 Centripetal acceleration - The acceleration with magnitude which
is normal to the pathline and directed toward the center of
rotation,
 In a uniform flow, the velocity does not change along a
streamline. In a steady flow, the velocity does not change with
time at any location.
  The tangential acceleration of a fluid element along a pathline is:

 The acceleration normal to the pathline and toward the center of

rotation is

Euler’s Equation (4.3)

 Euler’s equation can be applied to find the pressure

distribution across streamlines in rectilinear flow.
 Applying Newton’s second law to a fluid element in the flow
of an incompressible, inviscid fluid results in Euler’s
equation.

The Bernoulli Equation Along a Streamline (4.5)

 Integrating Euler’s equation in the radial direction for a ro-
tating flow results

 Integrating Euler’s equation along a streamline in steady

flow results in the Bernoulli equation

 in terms of pressure or in terms of head

Application of the Bernoulli Equation to Velocity Measurement
Devices
 Stagnation tube (sometimes call a total head tube)
is an open-ended tube directed upstream in a flow
and connected to a pressure sensor.
 This equation will be referred to as the stagnation
tube equation.

Pitot-static tube - named after the eighteenth-

century French hydraulic engineer who invented it, has
a pressure tap at the upstream end of the tube for
sensing the stagnation pressure.

Rotation and Vorticity (4.6)

 Rotation - is defined as the average rotation of two initially
mutually perpendicular faces of a fluid element.
 Vorticity - is a vector equal to twice the rate-of-rotation
vector.
 The rotation of a fluid element is defined as the average
rotation of two initially perpendicular lines defining the sides
of the element. If every fluid element in a flow does not
rotate, the flow is irrotational and the value for C in the
Bernoulli equation is the same for every streamline.
 The vorticity vector is defined as
 and is equal to twice the fluid rotation vector. In an
irrotational flow, the vorticity is zero.

The Pressure Coefficient

 A common dimensionless group for describing the
pressure distribution

 used to describe the pressure distribution around a

circular cylinder.
Seperation (4.8)
 Separation occurs when streamlines move away from the surface
of the body and create a local recirculation zone or wake.
Typically the pressure in the recirculation zone assumes the value
at the point of separation.
 Separation point - the pressure gradient is adverse and the fluid
particles in the boundary layer, slowed by viscous effects, can only
go so far and then are forced to detour away from the surface.
 Wake - A recirculatory flow.
 Seperated flow - The flow in the wake region.