Chapter 3
PRESSURE AND FLUID
STATICS
3–1 ■ PRESSURE
The normal stress (or “pressure”) on the
feet of a chubby person is much greater
than on the feet of a slim person.
Some
basic
pressure
gages.
• Absolute pressure
• Gage pressure
• Vacuum pressures
Pressure at a Point
Pressure is a scalar quantity,
not a vector; the pressure at a
Forces acting on a wedge-shaped point in a fluid is the same in
fluid element in equilibrium. all directions.
Variation of Pressure with Depth
When the variation of density
with elevation is known
The pressure of a fluid at rest
increases with depth (as a Free-body diagram of a rectangular
result of added weight). fluid element in equilibrium.
Pressure in a liquid at rest
increases linearly with
In a room filled with a gas, the variation distance from the free
of pressure with height is negligible. surface.
The pressure is the same at all points on a horizontal plane in a given fluid
regardless of geometry, provided that the points are interconnected by the
same fluid.
Pascal’s law
The area ratio A2/A1 is
called the ideal mechanical
advantage of the hydraulic
lift.
Lifting of a large
weight by a small
force by the
application of
Pascal’s law.
3–2 ■ PRESSURE MEASUREMENT DEVICES
The Barometer
• Atmospheric pressure is measured by a device called a
barometer; thus, the atmospheric pressure is often referred
to as the barometric pressure.
The length or the
cross-sectional area
of the tube has no
effect on the height
of the fluid column of
a barometer,
provided that the
tube diameter is
large enough to
avoid surface tension
(capillary) effects. 11
The basic barometer.
The variation of gage
pressure with depth in the
gradient zone of the solar
pond.
The Manometer
Measuring the
pressure drop across
a flow section or a flow
device by a differential
manometer.
The basic
manometer.
In stacked-up fluid layers, the
pressure change across a fluid layer
of density and height h is gh. 18
3–3 ■ INTRODUCTION TO FLUID STATICS
• Fluid statics
• Hydrostatics
• Aerostatics
3–4 ■ HYDROSTATIC
FORCES ON SUBMERGED
PLANE SURFACES
• On a plane surface, the
hydrostatic forces form a
Hoover Dam
system of parallel forces,
and we often need to
determine the magnitude
of the force and its point of
application, which is called
the center of pressure.
When analyzing hydrostatic forces on
submerged surfaces, the atmospheric
pressure can be subtracted for simplicity
when it acts on both sides of the structure.
Hydrostatic force
on an inclined
plane surface
completely
submerged in a
liquid.
The pressure at the
centroid of a surface is
equivalent to the average
pressure on the surface.
The resultant force acting on a
plane surface is equal to the
product of the pressure at the
centroid of the surface and the
surface area, and its line of
action passes through the
center of pressure.
second moment of
area (area moment of
inertia) about the x-
axis
The centroid and the centroidal moments of
inertia for some common geometries.
• This virtual pressure prism
has an interesting physical
interpretation: its volume is
equal to the magnitude of
the resultant hydrostatic
force acting on the plate
since FR = PdA, and the
line of action of this force
passes through the centroid
of this homogeneous prism.
The hydrostatic forces acting on a
• The projection of the plane surface form a pressure prism
centroid on the plate is the whose base (left face) is the surface
and whose length is the pressure.
pressure center.
Special Case:
Submerged
Rectangular Plate
Hydrostatic force acting
on the top surface of a
submerged tilted
rectangular plate.
Hydrostatic force
acting on the top
surface of a
submerged vertical
rectangular plate.
Hydrostatic force acting
on the top surface of a
submerged horizontal
rectangular plate.
