Applied Fluid Mechanics

1. The Nature of Fluid and the

Study of Fluid Mechanics
2. Pressure Measurement
3. Forces Due to Static Fluid
4. Buoyancy and Stability
5. Flow of Fluid and Bernoulli’s Equation
6. Forces Due to Fluids in Motion
7. General Energy Equation
8. Reynolds Number, Laminar Flow, Turbulent Flow
and Energy Losses Due to Friction
9. Minor Losses

2005 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

4. Buoyancy and Stability
Chapter Objectives

• Write the equation for the buoyant force.

• Analyze the case of bodies floating on a fluid.

• Use the principle of static equilibrium to solve for the forces involved in
buoyancy problems.

• Define the conditions that must be met for a body to be stable when
completely submerged in a fluid.

• Define the conditions that must be met for a body to be stable when
floating on a fluid.

• Define the term metacenter and compute its location.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Chapter Outline

1. Introductory Concepts

2. Buoyancy

3. Buoyancy Materials

4. Stability of Completely Submerged Bodies

5. Stability of Floating Bodies

6. Degree of Stability

3
4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.1 Introductory Concepts
• Fig 5.1 shows the examples of types of buoyancy problems.

4
4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.1 Introductory Concepts

• The buoy and the ship are obviously designed to float.

• The diving bell would tend to sink unless supported by the

cable from the crane on the ship.

• Consider any kind of boat, raft, or other floating object that is

expected to maintain a particular orientation when placed in a
fluid.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.2 Buoyancy

• A body in a fluid, whether floating or submerged, is buoyed up by a

force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced.

• The buoyant force acts vertically upward through the centroid of the
displaced volume and can be defined mathematically by Archimedes’
principle as follows:

6
4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.2 Buoyancy

• Below are the procedure for solving buoyancy problems:

1. Determine the objective of the problem solution. Are you to find a

force, a weight, a volume, or a specific weight?

2. Draw a free-body diagram of the object in the fluid. Show all forces
that act on the free body in the vertical direction, including the
weight of the body, the buoyant force, and all external forces. If the
direction of some force is not known, assume the most probable
direction and show it on the free body.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.2 Buoyancy

3. Write the equation of static equilibrium in the vertical direction, ΣFv =

0, assuming the positive direction to be upward.

4. Solve for the desired force, weight, volume, or specific weight,

remembering the following concepts:

a. The buoyant force is calculated from Fb = γfVd.

b. The weight of a solid object is the product of its total volume and
its specific weight; that is w = γV.

c. An object with an average specific weight less than that of the

fluid will tend to float because w < Fb with the object submerged.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.2 Buoyancy

• An object with an average specific weight greater than that of the fluid
will tend to sink because w > Fb with the object submerged.

• Neutral buoyancy occurs when a body stays in a given position wherever

it is submerged in a fluid. An object whose average specific weight is
equal to that of the fluid is neutrally buoyant.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.1

A cube 0.50 m on a side is made of bronze having a specific weight of

86.9kN/m3. Determine the magnitude and direction of the force required to
hold the cube in equilibrium completely submerged (a) in water and (b) in
mercury. The specific gravity of mercury is 13.54.

• Consider part (a) first. Imagine the cube of bronze submerged in water.
Now do Step 1 of the procedure. On the assumption that the bronze
cube will not stay in equilibrium by itself, some external force is required.

• The objective is to find the magnitude of this force and the direction in
which it would act—that is, up or down. Now do Step 2 of the procedure
before looking at the next panel.
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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.1

• The free body is simply the cube itself. There are three forces acting on
the cube in the vertical direction, as shown in Fig. 5.2: the weight of the
cube w, acting downward through its center of gravity; the buoyant force
Fb acting upward through the centroid of the displaced volume; and the
externally applied supporting force Fe .

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.1
• Part (a) of Fig. 5.2 shows the cube as a three-dimensional object with the
three forces acting along a vertical line through the centroid of the volume.
This is the preferred visualization of the free-body diagram. However, for
most problems it is suitable to use a simplified two-dimensional sketch as
shown in part (b).

• How do we know to draw the force Fe in the upward direction?

• We really do not know for certain. However, experience should indicate

that without an external force the solid bronze cube would tend to sink in
water. Therefore, an upward force seems to be required to hold the cube
in equilibrium. If our choice is wrong, the final result will indicate that to us.

• Now, assuming that the forces are as shown in Fig. 5.2, go on to Step 3. 12
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.1
• The equation should look as follows (assume that positive forces act
upward):

• As a part of Step 4, solve this equation algebraically for the desired

term. You should now have

• because the objective is to find the external force.

• How do we calculate the weight of the cube w?

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.1

• Item b under Step 4 of the procedure indicates that

w = γBV , where γB is the specific weight of the bronze cube and V is
its total volume. For the cube, because each side is 0.50 m, we have

• There is another unknown on the right side of Eq. (5–3). How do we

calculate Fb?

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.1

• Check Step 4a of the procedure if you have forgotten. Write

• In this case γf is the specific weight of the water

(9.81 kN/m3), and the displaced volume Vd is equal to the total volume
of the cube, which we already know to be 0.123m3. Then, we have

• Now we can complete our solution for Fe.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.1 – Results Part a

• Notice that the result is positive. This means that our assumed direction
for Fe was correct. Then the solution to the problem is that an upward
force of 9.63 kN is required to hold the block of bronze in equilibrium
under water.

• What about part (b) of the problem, where the cube is submerged in
mercury? Our objective is the same as before—to determine the
magnitude and direction of the force required to hold the cube in
equilibrium.

• Now do Step 2 of the procedure.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.1 – Results Part a

• Either of two free-body diagrams is correct as shown in Fig. 5.3,

depending on the assumed direction for the external force Fe. The
solution for the two diagrams will be carried out simultaneously so you
can check your work regardless of which diagram looks like yours and to
demonstrate that either approach will yield the correct answer.

• Now do Step 3 of the procedure.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.1 – Results Part a

• The following are the correct equations of equilibrium. Notice the

differences and relate them to the figures:

• Because the magnitudes of w and Fb are the same for each equation,
they can now be calculated.

• As in part (a) of the problem, the weight of the cube is

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.1 – Results Part a
• For the buoyant force you should have

• The correct answers are

• Notice that both solutions yield the same numerical value, but they have
opposite signs. The negative sign for the solution on the left means that
the assumed direction for Fe in Fig. 5.3(a) was wrong. Therefore, both
approaches give the same result. 19
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.1 – Results Part b
• The required external force is a downward force of 5.74 kN. How could
you have reasoned from the start that a downward force would be
required?

• Items c and d of Step 4 of the procedure suggest that the specific weight
of the cube and the fluid be compared. In this case we have the following
results:

• Because the specific weight of the cube is less than that of the mercury, it
would tend to float without an external force. Therefore, a downward
force, as pictured in Fig. 5.3(b), would be required to hold it in equilibrium
under the surface of the mercury. This example problem is concluded. 20
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.2
A certain solid metal object has such an irregular shape that it is difficult to
calculate its volume by geometry. Use the principle of buoyancy to
calculate its volume and specific weight.

•First, the mass of the object is determined in the normal manner to be

27.2 kg. Then, using a setup similar to that in Fig. 5.4, we find its apparent
mass while submerged in water to be 21.1 kg. Using these data and the
procedure for analyzing buoyancy problems, we can find the volume of
the object. (W =mg)

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.2
Fig. 5.4

22
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.2

• Now apply Step 2 of the procedure and draw the free-body diagram of
the object while it is suspended in the water.

• The free-body diagram of the object while it is suspended in the water

should look like Fig. 5.5. In this figure, what are the two forces Fe and w?

Fig. 5.5

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.2

• We know that w=266.8 N, the weight of the object in air, and Fe=207
N, the supporting force exerted by the balance shown in Fig. 5.4. Now
do Step 3 of the procedure.

• Using ΣFv = 0, we get

• Our objective is to find the total volume V of the object. How can we
get V into this equation?

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.2

• We use this equation from Step 4a,

where the specific weight of the water, 9.81 kN/m3.

• Substitute this into the preceding equation and solve for V.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.2

• The result is V=0.0061 m3. This is how it is done:

• This is approximately the specific weight of a titanium alloy.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.3
A cube 80 mm on a side is made of a rigid foam material and floats in
water with 60 mm of the cube below the surface. Calculate the magnitude
and direction of the force required to hold it completely submerged in
glycerine, which has a specific gravity of 1.26.

Complete the solution before looking at the next panel.

Fig. 5.6

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.3

From Fig. 5.6(a), we have

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.3

From Fig. 5.6(b), we have

A downward force of 2.56 N is required to hold the cube submerged in

glycerine.
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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.4
A brass cube 152.4 mm on a side weighs 298.2 N. We want to hold this cube in
equilibrium under water by attaching a light foam buoy to it. If the foam weighs
707.3 N/m3, what is the minimum required volume of the buoy?

Complete the solution before looking at the next panel.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.4

Calculate the minimum volume of foam to hold the brass cube in

equilibrium. Notice that the foam and brass in Fig. 5.7 are considered as
parts of a single system and that there is a buoyant force on each. The
subscript F refers to the foam and the subscript B refers to the brass. No
external force is required.

Fig. 5.7

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.4

The equilibrium equation is

32
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.4

Substitute these quantities into Eq. (5–4):

This means that if 0.029 m3 of foam were attached to the brass cube, the
combination would be in equilibrium in water without any external force. It
would be neutrally buoyant.
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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.3 Buoyancy Materials

• The design of floating bodies often requires the use of lightweight

materials that offer a high degree of buoyancy.

• The buoyancy material should typically have the following properties:

1. Low specific weight and density

2. Little or no tendency to absorb the fluid

3. Compatibility with the fluid in which it will operate

4. Ability to be formed to appropriate shapes

5. Ability to withstand fluid pressures to which it will be subjected

6. Abrasion resistance and damage tolerance

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.4 Stability of Completely Submerged Bodies

• A body in a fluid is considered stable if it will return to its original

position after being rotated a small amount about a horizontal axis.

• The condition for stability of bodies completely submerged in a

fluid is that the center of gravity of the body must be below the
center of buoyancy.

• The center of buoyancy of a body is at the centroid of the displaced

volume of fluid, and it is through this point that the buoyant force acts
in a vertical direction.

• The weight of the body acts vertically downward through the center of
gravity.
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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.4 Stability of Completely Submerged Bodies

• Fig 5.8 shows the deep submergence vehicle Alvin, cutaway drawing
showing major components.

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 4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.4 Stability of Completely Submerged Bodies

• Much of the upper structure is filled with light synthetic foam to provide
buoyancy. This causes the center of gravity (cg) to be lower than the
center of buoyancy (cb), achieving stability.

• Fig 5.9 shows the stability of a

submerged submarine. Because
their lines of action are now
offset, these forces create a
righting couple that brings the
vehicle back to its original
orientation, demonstrating
stability. 37
4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.4 Stability of Completely Submerged Bodies

• If the cg is above the cb, the couple created when the body is tilted
would produce an overturning couple that would cause it to capsize.

• Solid objects have the cg and cb coincident and they exhibit neutral
stability when completely submerged, meaning that they tend to stay in
whatever position they are placed. Fig 5.10 shows the method of
finding the metacenter.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.5 Stability of Floating Bodies

• In part (a) of the figure, the floating body is at its equilibrium orientation
and the center of gravity (cg) is above the center of buoyancy (cb).

• A vertical line through these points will be called the vertical axis of the
body.

• Figure 5.10(b) shows that if the body is rotated slightly, the center of
buoyancy shifts to a new position because the geometry of the
displaced volume has changed.

• The buoyant force and the weight now produce a righting couple that
tends to return the body to its original orientation.

• Thus, the body is stable.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.5 Stability of Floating Bodies

• A floating body is stable if its center of gravity is below the

metacenter.

• The distance to the metacenter from the center of buoyancy is called

MB and is calculated from

• In this equation, Vd is the displaced volume of fluid and I is the least

moment of inertia of a horizontal section of the body taken at the
surface of the fluid.

• If the distance MB places the metacenter above the center of gravity,

the body is stable.
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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.5 Stability of Floating Bodies

• Below is the procedure for evaluating the stability of floating bodies:

1. Determine the position of the floating body, using the principles of

buoyancy.

2. Locate the center of buoyancy, cb; compute the distance from some
reference axis to cb, called ycb. Usually, the bottom of the object is
taken as the reference axis.

3. Locate the center of gravity, cg; compute ycg measured from the
same reference axis.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.5 Stability of Floating Bodies

4. Determine the shape of the area at the fluid surface and compute
the smallest moment of inertia I for that shape.

5. Compute the displaced volume Vd.

6. Compute MB = I/Vd.

7. Compute ymc = ycb + MB.

8. If ymc > ycg, the body is stable.

9. If ymc < ycg, the body is unstable.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.5 Stability of Floating Bodies

• The conditions for stability of bodies in a fluid can be summarized as

follows.

1. Completely submerged bodies are stable if the center of gravity is

below the center of buoyancy.

2. Floating bodies are stable if the center of gravity is below the

metacenter.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.5
Figure 5.11(a) shows a flatboat hull that, when fully loaded, weighs 150 kN.
Parts (b)–(d) show the top, front, and side views of the boat, respectively.
Note the location of the center of gravity, cg. Determine whether the boat is
stable in fresh water.

Figure 5.11

44
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.5

First, find out whether the boat will float.

This is done by finding how far the boat will sink into the water, using the
principles of buoyancy stated in Section 5.2. Complete that calculation
before going to the next panel.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.5

The depth of submergence or draft of the boat is 1.06 m, as shown in Fig.

5.12, found by the following method:

Fig. 5.12
46
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.5
Equation of equilibrium:

Submerged volume:

Buoyant force:

Then we have

It floats with 1.06 m submerged. Where is the center of buoyancy? 47

4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.5

It is at the center of the displaced volume of water. In this case, as shown in

Fig. 5.13, it is on the vertical axis of the boat at a distance of 0.53 m from the
bottom. That is half of the draft, X.

Then ycb = 0.53 m.

Fig. 5.13 48
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.5

Because the center of gravity is above the center of buoyancy, we must

locate the metacenter to determine whether the boat is stable.

Using Eq. (5–5), calculate the distance MB and show it on the sketch. The
result is as shown in Fig. 5.14.

49
Fig. 5.14
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.5
Here is how it is done:

The moment of inertia I is determined about the axis X–X in Fig. 5.11(b)
because this would yield the smallest value for I:

Is the boat stable?

Yes, it is. Because the metacenter is above the center of gravity, as shown in
Fig. 5.14, the boat is stable. That is, ymc > ycg. 50
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.6
A solid cylinder is 0.91 m in diameter, is 1.83 m high, and weighs 6.90 kN. If
the cylinder is placed in oil (sg = 0.9) with its axis vertical, would it be stable?

The complete solution is shown in the next panel. Do this problem and then
look at the solution.

51
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.6

Position of cylinder in oil (Fig. 5.15):

52
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.6

Equilibrium equation:

53
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.6

The center of buoyancy cb is at a distance X/2 from the bottom of the

cylinder:

The center of gravity cg is at H/2=0.915 m from the bottom of the cylinder,

assuming the material of the cylinder is of uniform specific weight. The
position of the metacenter mc using Eq. (5–5), is

54
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.6

Because the metacenter is below the center of gravity (ymc < ycg) the
cylinder is not stable in the position shown. It would tend to fall to one side
until it reached a stable orientation, probably with the axis horizontal or
nearly so.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.6 Degree of Stability

• Fig 5.16 shows the degree of stability as indicated by the metacentric

height and the righting arm.

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.6 Degree of Stability

• We can compute MG from

• The metacentric height should not be too large, however, because

the ship may then have the uncomfortable rocking motions that
cause seasickness.

57
4. Buoyancy and Stability
Example 4.7
Compute the metacentric height for the flatboat hull described in Example
Problem 4.5.

From the results of Example Problem 4.5,

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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.6.1 Static Stability

• Another measure of the stability of a floating object is the amount of

offset between the line of action of the weight of the object acting
through the center of gravity and that of the buoyant force acting
through the center of buoyancy.

• Fig 5.17 shows the static stability curve for a floating body.

• It shows a characteristic plot of the righting arm versus the angle of

rotation for a ship.

• As long as the value of GH remains positive, the ship is stable.

Conversely, when GH becomes negative, the ship is unstable and it will
overturn.
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4. Buoyancy and Stability
4.6.1 Static Stability

60