JME 3700

January 26, 2024

Homework #2

g
1. (10 pts) A 3–liquid manometer consists of water of density ρ =
1000kg/m3 (the 2 shaded regions in Fig. 1) flanking an unknown 100
72.8 mystery
“mystery liquid”, which does not mix with water. Both ends are liquid
open to the atmosphere and the vertical displacements are given
in units of cm. Determine the specific gravity, Sg , of the unknown 2
liquid and, from this, try to infer what the mystery liquid is.

Figure 1: 3 liquids.

2. (10 pts) A spherical helium balloon (Fig. 2) is to be

sized to lift a weight of W = 3000 N . Assuming the R
balloon itself is made of very light material and the
weight of the strings and helium are negligible, deter-
mine the radius R such that the whole device is neu-
trally buoyant, i.e. it becomes weightless. Take the g
density of air to be ρ = 1.25 kg/m3 and gravitational
acceleration to be g = 9.8 m/s2 .
W
Figure 2: Balloon.
3. (10 pts) The hydrostatic equation can be written dP/dy = −ρ g, where y is a coordinate that
points in the positive vertical (upward) direction. Suppose that instead of an incompressible
fluid, you have a fluid whose density behaves as ρ = ρo e−y/L , where ρo is a reference density
and L is a reference length. (Both ρo and L are constant.) Determine how pressure varies
in the vertical direction for this system. In other words, for two arbitrary points y1 and y2 ,
determine ∆P = P2 − P1 .
JME 3700 January 26, 2024

4. (10 pts) Water having a density ρ is held in a

pool by a square gate of edge length L, oriented
at 45o , and hinged at its center (Fig. 3). The water
hinge is a depth H below the water free surface. A H

te
billet attached to the top edge of the gate holds it

ga
closed against a stop. Assuming the gate is fully– stop
immersed, calculate the minimum weight of the
billet, W , that is required to keep the gate closed. o
The weight may be a function of any combination 45 W
of ρ, g, H, and L.
Figure 3: Weighted gate.
5. (10 pts) A simple control system allows liquid to be dumped
when its level rises sufficiently (Fig. 4). Specifically, a gate is
hinged at point A and will open by rotating clockwise if D be- g
comes large enough. The gate has 2 fixed sections with an angle
of 45o in between. Assuming the gate has a depth w “into the D o
45
paper”, at what D will the gate just start to open if the liquid
has a density ρ? Assume the vertical section is tall enough, such A
that the liquid does not spill over the top before the gate opens. b
Also, assume that the friction in the hinge and weight of the gate
(and any moment imparted) are all small enough in this case to
Figure 4: Angled gate.
be neglected.

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