• DECEMBER 2019

Hydrostatic Equilibrium &

Buoyancy

Fluid Statics – Lesson 2

 Hydrostatic Equilibrium
• Consider a small, differential cubic region submerged in a fluid in a gravity field acting in the negative y 𝑦
direction as shown. The forces acting on the boundaries are the pressure forces (𝐹𝑝 ), while the volume 𝑔Ԧ
itself has weight (𝐹𝑤 ) which is a body force acting in the direction of gravity (𝑔).
Ԧ
• The weight of the body force is given by:

𝐹Ԧ𝑤 = −𝜌𝑔 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧 𝑗Ƹ 𝑑𝑦
• The forces acting on the cube walls are fluid pressure forces. Assuming a smooth pressure variation in
the differential limit we can write the following equations for the equilibrium force balance in each
coordinate direction: 𝑑𝑧 𝑥
𝜕𝑝 𝑑𝑥
x−direction: 𝑝 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧 − 𝑝+
𝜕𝑥
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧 = 0 𝑧
𝜕𝑝
y−direction: 𝑝 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑧 − 𝑝+ 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑧 − 𝜌𝑔 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧 = 0
𝜕𝑦

𝜕𝑝
z−direction: 𝑝 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 − 𝑝+ 𝑑𝑧 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 = 0
𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝑝 𝜕𝑝 𝜕𝑝
= =0 = −𝜌𝑔
• The resulting equations are the basic hydrodynamic equilibrium equations of fluid statics: 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦

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Integration of the Hydrostatic Equation
• We can apply the hydrostatic equilibrium equations to determine the pressure distribution
acting on submerged surfaces due to gravity. For example, if we consider a liquid of constant 𝑔Ԧ 𝑦
density 𝜌 acting on a surface, integrating in the 𝑦 direction from 𝑦 = ℎ1 to
𝑦 = ℎ2 gives:
ℎ2 ℎ2
𝜕𝑝
න 𝑑𝑦 = − න 𝜌𝑔𝑑𝑦
ℎ1
𝜕𝑦
ℎ1 𝑝(𝑦)

𝑝ℎ2 = 𝑝ℎ1 − 𝜌𝑔(ℎ2 − ℎ1 )

• Note that this is a linear pressure variation in 𝑦, and that the pressure in the 𝑥 and
𝑧 directions is zero (since the gradient is zero from the previous slide).
• The foregoing can be written more generally as:
𝑦0
𝑝 𝑦 = 𝑝0 − 𝜌𝑔 𝑦 − 𝑦0
Datum (𝑝 = 𝑝0 )

• The subscript 0 denotes any (arbitrary) datum or reference point in the fluid.

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Atmospheric Pressure (Isothermal Air Column)
• What if the density is not constant? An example of this would be the pressure variation in the atmosphere for a column of air at
uniform temperature.
• Air at standard conditions behaves as an ideal gas, and therefore the density can be calculated as a function of temperature
using the ideal gas law:
𝑝
𝜌=
𝑅𝑇

where 𝑅 = gas constant for air (287 J/(kg∙K))

• Inserting this into the hydrostatic equilibrium relation gives the ordinary differential equation:
𝑑𝑝 𝑔
= 𝑑𝑦
𝑝 𝑅𝑇
• Integrating both sides (assuming constant temperature) and evaluating the constant as 𝑝(𝑦 = 0) = 𝑝0 yields

𝑔𝑦
𝑝 𝑦 = 𝑝0 𝑒 −𝑅𝑇

• Thus, pressure falls off exponentially with height in an isothermal atmosphere. In reality, the temperature also generally
decreases with height, making the pressure variation more complex.

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Air Pressure on Mt. Everest (Altitude = 29,035 ft.)

The atmospheric pressure decreases with

altitude from sea level to 29,000 ft.

The exponential expression given previously

will not apply exactly due to the decrease in
air temperature but would be a reasonable
approximation at lower altitudes.

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Hydrostatic Forces on General Submerged Surfaces
• Knowing the pressure distribution in the fluid allows us to determine the net
pressure force and moments acting on any submerged surface.
• Let 𝑛ො denote the surface normal pointing into the fluid and 𝑝 is the local surface
pressure. The net pressure force vector can be computed on surface 𝐴 by
integrating over the surface: 𝐹Ԧ𝑝

𝐹Ԧ𝑝 = − ඵ 𝑝𝑛𝑑𝐴
ො 𝑛ො
𝐴 𝑝(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) 𝑑𝐴

• We need to know mathematically the shape of the surface in order to evaluate

the integral, which can be done for simple shapes.
• The moment vector can likewise be calculated about a specified point knowing
the pressure distribution.

𝑀𝑝 = −𝑟Ԧ × ඵ 𝑝𝑛𝑑𝐴
ො
𝐴

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Archimedes’ Principle
• Archimedes’ Principle states that the pressure force acting on a body immersed in a static fluid equals
the weight of the fluid it displaces.
• This can be derived mathematically by integrating the pressure force vector over an entire surface of a 𝐹Ԧ𝑝 𝑔Ԧ
body (surface area 𝐴 and volume 𝛺):
𝑛ො
𝐹Ԧ𝑝 = − ඾ 𝑝𝑛𝑑𝐴
ො
𝑑𝐴
𝐴
• Let 𝑓 be a scalar function of (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) and 𝐴 is a closed surface surrounding the body. Using the gradient
Ω
theorem from vector calculus we have:

඾ 𝑓𝑛𝑑𝐴
ො = ම ∇𝑓𝑑Ω 𝑝 𝑦
𝐴 Ω
• Recalling that the pressure gradient in fluid statics is:

𝜕𝑝 𝜕𝑝 𝜕𝑝
= =0 = −𝜌𝑔
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦

• Then we have 𝐹Ԧ𝑝 = − ඾ 𝑝𝑛𝑑𝐴

ො = − ම ∇𝑝𝑑Ω = ම 𝜌𝑔𝑗𝑑Ω
Ƹ 𝐹Ԧ𝑝 = +𝜌𝑔Ω𝑗Ƹ
𝐴 Ω Ω

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Archimedes’ Principle (History)
• Archimedes’ Principle was originally developed by one of the
leading scientists of antiquity, Archimedes of Syracuse (287 BC –
212 BC), and was published in an ancient text entitled “On
Floating Bodies.”
• Archimedes is credited with numerous inventions and
discoveries, including the Archimedes screw pump and the
development of levers and pulleys for doing useful work.
• As the tale goes, Archimedes discovered his principle after
being requested by King Hieron II of Syracuse to determine if his
crown was pure gold. Archimedes hit upon the solution after
contemplating why a certain volume of water had spilled out of
a tub in which he was bathing. He deduced that the volume of
water that spilled out must be related to his weight and
volume. Thus, if the crown were made of pure gold, then if it
were dropped into a vessel filled to the top with water, the
volume of water displaced (spilled) would equal the volume
displaced by a bar of gold of equal weight. If it were less dense,
the crown would displace more water. Archimedes was so
thrilled with this discovery that he hopped out of his bath and
ran through the streets naked shouting “Eureka! Eureka!” (“I
have found it! I have found it!”) As for the king's crown, it was
found to contain silver as a filler instead of being pure gold.

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Buoyancy
• Buoyancy is the net difference between the upward and
downward forces acting on a body immersed in a fluid.
• The upward forces are given by Archimedes' Principle, whereas
the downward force is simply the weight of the body. 𝑔Ԧ
• A body is said to have positive buoyancy if weight of the body is
less than the upward force. The body will thus rise upward until
it reaches the surface of the fluid (i. e., the object floats).
Positive Buoyancy
• In contrast, negative buoyancy means that the weight of the
object is larger than the upward force, and thus the object sinks
in the fluid. 𝐹𝑝
• If the forces are equal, the object is said to be neutrally buoyant. Neutral
• In a constant force field, e. g., gravity, positive, neutral or Buoyancy
negative buoyancy is defined by the ratio of the body’s density 𝑊
to the density of the fluid: a less dense body will float, a more
dense body will sink and an equally dense body will float Negative Buoyancy
neutrally.
• The concept of specific gravity compares different substances
with respect to their buoyancy properties.

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Specific Gravity

• One way of comparing the densities of different substances is to employ the specific
gravity (SG), which is defined as the fluid density divided by reference density. For
liquids, the reference density is normally the density of water at 4 C (1000 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3 ).

𝜌
𝑆𝐺 =
𝜌𝐻2𝑂

• We can determine whether or not an object will float in a fluid by comparing their
specific gravities.
• For example, an object will float in water if its specific gravity is less than one, or it
will sink if its specific gravity is greater than one.

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Hot Air Balloons
• Buoyancy is the main principle behind hot air
balloon flight.
• A hot air balloon rises if the balloon is filled with a
hot gas whose density is less than that of the
surrounding air.
• Balloon pilots control the hot gas density by using
a propane heater to keep the density low. To
reduce lift or cause the balloon to descend, vents
are used to let hot gas escape.
• For level flight, the balloon pilot controls the gas
temperature to obtain a neutrally buoyant
condition for the balloon and basket (the weight
of which can vary).

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Summary

• The equations for hydrostatic equilibrium were derived in this lesson.

• Knowing the pressure variation in space permits pressure forces and moments to be
calculated on any surface submerged in a given fluid.
• Knowing these forces and moments enables an engineer to understand the loads
acting on these surfaces and therefore to design a structure that is strong enough to
withstand these forces.
• Prediction of an object’s buoyancy is important in the design of marine surface and
submergible vessels, lighter-than-air high-altitude atmospheric probes, hot air
balloons and airships.

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