Fluid Statics

• Fluid Statics deals with problems associated with fluids

at rest.
• In fluid statics, there is no relative motion between
adjacent fluid layers.
• Therefore, there is no shear stress in the fluid trying to
deform it.
• The only stress in fluid statics is normal stress
– Normal stress is due to pressure
– Variation of pressure is due only to the weight of the fluid →
fluid statics is only relevant in presence of gravity fields.
• Applications: Floating or submerged bodies, water
dams and gates, liquid storage tanks, etc.
 Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Surface: Tank Bottom
Simplest Case: Tank bottom with a uniform pressure distribution
p - h = patm - patm

p  h

Now, the resultant Force:

FR = pA
Acts through the Centroid

A = area of the Tank Bottom

Hoover Dam
 Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Surface: Tank Bottom
Simplest Case: Tank bottom with a uniform pressure distribution
p - h = patm - patm

p  h

Now, the resultant Force:

FR = pA
Acts through the Centroid

A = area of the Tank Bottom

 Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Surface:
The origin O is at the Free Surface.

is the angle the plane makes

with the free surface.

y is directed along the plane surface.

A is the area of the surface.

dA is a differential element of
the surface.
dF is the force acting on the
differential element.

C is the centroid. General Shape: Planar View,

in the x-y plane
CP is the center of Pressure

FR is the resultant force acting

through CP
 Hydrostatic Force on a Plane Surface:
Then the force acting on the differential element:

Then the resultant force acting on the entire surface:

We note h = ysin

With and  taken as constant:

We note, the integral part is the first moment of area about the x-axis

Where yc is the y coordinate to the centroid of the object.

hc
Arch Dam Dams

Arch & Gravity Dam

Gravity Dam
 Dams (cont.)

Hydrostatic forces
Turbine
Energy conversion Hydrostatic uplift
Bernoulli equation
 Hydrostatic Force on a Curved Surface
• General theory of plane surfaces does not apply to curved surfaces
• Many surfaces in dams, pumps, pipes or tanks are curved
• No simple formulas by integration similar to those for plane surfaces
• A new method must be used
Then we mark a F.B.D. for the volume:

Isolated Volume
Bounded by AB an AC F1 and F2 is the hydrostatic force on each
and BC planar face
FH and FV is the component of the resultant
force on the curved surface.

W is the weight of the fluid volume.

 Hydrostatic Forces on Curved
Surfaces
• Horizontal force component on curved surface:
FH=Fx. Line of action on vertical plane gives y
coordinate of center of pressure on curved surface.
• Vertical force component on curved surface:
FV=Fy+W, where W is the weight of the liquid in the
enclosed block W=gV. x coordinate of the center of
pressure is a combination of line of action on
horizontal plane (centroid of area) and line of action
through volume (centroid of volume).
• Magnitude of force FR=(FH2+FV2)1/2
• Angle of force is  = tan-1(FV/FH)
 Fluid Statics
When a surface is submerged in a fluid at rest, hydrostatic forces
develop on the surface due to the fluid pressure. These forces must
be perpendicular to the surface since there is no shear action present.
These forces can be determined by integrating the static pressure
distribution over the area it is acting on.

Example: What is the force acting on the bottom of the tank shown?

Fluid with density 

Tank area A
 Dam Design

Design concern: (Hydrostatic Uplift) Hydrostatic pressure above the heel

(upstream edge) of the dam may cause seepage with resultant uplift beneath the
dam base (depends largely on the supporting material of the dam). This reduces
the dams stability to sliding and overturning by effectively reducing the weight
of the dam structure. (Question: What prevents the dam from sliding?)
Determine the minimum compressive stresses in the base of a concrete gravity
dam as given below. It is important that this value should be greater than zero
because (1) concrete has poor tensile strength. Damage might occur near the
heel of the dam. (2) The lifting of the dam structure will accelerate the seeping
rate of the water underneath the dam and further increase hydrostatic uplift and
generate more instability.
 Dam Design
To calculate the weight of the dam (per unit width): W=Vg=(2.5)(1000)(20)
(40)(1)(9.8)=19.6106 (N)

20 m

Free surface

concrete=2.5 water
y
40 m
30 m
 Buoyancy: Archimedes’ Principle
Archimedes’ Principle states that the buoyant force has a magnitude equal to the
weight of the fluid displaced by the body and is directed vertically upward.

•Buoyant force is a force that results from a floating or submerged body in a fluid.
•The force results from different pressures on the top and bottom of the object
•The pressure forces acting from below are greater than those on top

Now, treat an arbitrary submerged object as a planar surface:

Forces on the Fluid

Arbitrary Shape