DR. UY'S Mapua Fluid Mechanics Lab Experiments - HYDROSTATIC FORCE ON PLANE SURFACES

Usually, engineers are confronted with problem of determining the force exerted by fluids acting on walls of container, such as pipes, tanks and concrete forms. Here, forces are due to the pressure, which is being exerted outward from the inside of the container. On other occasions, the problem maybe to determine the pressure exerted against submerged objects such as caissons, diving bells and balloons. Another common problem is the determination of forces acting on gates in the walls of these containers or submerged objects. Forces acting on containers or submerged objects are due to pressure of a gas, a liquid, or a solid. In the case of gas, pressure usually does not vary appreciably with elevation in vertical distances that are commonly considered. With liquids, however, the pressure will vary from atmospheric at free surface to tremendous magnitudes at great depths, such as the ocean. The actual absolute magnitude of the pressure depends on the atmospheric pressure, the depth of the point being considered, and the specific weight of the liquid involved.

OBJECTIVE

This experiment determines the hydrostatic force on a submerged and semi-sub-merged rectangular area.