Hydrostatic Force Essay

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Hydrostatic force Summary This was a lab to find the hydrostatic force that is in effect on a partially submerged surface. This was done both experimentally and by using an equation to calculate the expected hydrostatic force given a change in distance. When I had values of hydrostatic force for all of the different weights both experimentally and through calculation, I put these values in a graph to compare my results. There is then a section which shows what errors might have been incurred and ways that these errors can be reduced or removed completely after that there is a short conclusion. Introduction The objective of this lab is to Measure the hydrostatic force on a partially submerged vertical surface and compare them to their theoretical equivalents. The hydrostatic force that is in effect on a surface will let you know how much force is required to keep an item that you are submerging in place. An example of where this would have a practical application is in a water damn. If the hydrostatic force that will be in effect on a damn is not calculated then you would not know how much force the damn would need to be made to cope with. A further example is in tidal power, the hydrostatic force of the water is used to create energy through use of turbines. Theory An object submerged in a fluid will experience a force called the hydrostatic force (Fh) due to the weight of the fluid as shown in the diagram below. The hydrostatic force (Fh) is the product of the pressure at the centroid (ρgȳ)(whereρ is the density of the fluid, g is gravity and ȳ is the centroid) and the surface area of the object (A). This gives the formula; Fh=ρgȳA For a vertical surface (which is the case in this experiment) the centroid can be shown as ȳ=h2. Putting these two equations together we get Fh=ρgh2A which is the formula that I will be using for the theoretical
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