MFSM 350

BUOYANCY AND STABILITY

It is a common experience that an object feels lighter and weighs less in a liquid than it does in air. This can be
demonstrated easily by weighing a heavy object in water by a waterproof spring scale. Also, objects made of wood or
other light materials float on water. These and other observations suggest that a fluid exerts an upward force on a body
immersed in it. This force that tends to lift the body is called the buoyant force and is denoted by FB. The buoyant force is
caused by the increase of pressure in a fluid with depth.

Consider, for example, a flat plate of thickness h submerged in a liquid of density 𝝆, parallel to the free surface, as shown.
The area of the top (and also bottom) surface of the plate is A, and its distance to the free surface is s. The pressures at the
top and bottom surfaces of the plate are 𝜌𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝜌𝑔(𝑠 + ℎ) , respectively. Then the hydrostatic force on top of area
𝐹𝑡𝑜𝑝 = 𝜌𝑔𝑠𝐴 acts downward on the top surface, and the larger force at the bottom 𝐹𝑏𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚 = 𝜌𝑔 (𝑠 + ℎ)𝐴 acts upward
on the bottom surface of the plate. The difference between these two forces is a net upward force, which is the buoyant
force.

𝑭𝑩 = 𝐹𝑏𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚 − 𝐹𝑡𝑜𝑝 = 𝜌𝑔 (𝑠 + ℎ)𝐴 − 𝜌𝑔𝑠𝐴

𝑭𝑩 = 𝜌𝑔 ℎ𝐴 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑉 = ℎ𝐴

𝑭𝑩 = 𝜌𝑔 𝑉 = 𝛾𝑉

The buoyant force acting on the plate is equal to the weight

of the liquid displaced by the plate

Archimedes’ principle: (Archimedes, 287–212 BC)

“The buoyant force acting on a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body,
and it acts upward through the centroid of the displaced volume.”

For floating bodies, the weight of the entire body must be equal to the buoyant force, which is the weight of the fluid
whose volume is equal to the volume of the submerged portion of the floating body.

𝐹𝐵 = 𝑊 = 𝛾𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 = 𝛾𝑎𝑣𝑒.𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑉𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙

Therefore, we can say

𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏 𝛾𝑎𝑣𝑒.𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦
=
𝑉𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝛾𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑

The submerged volume fraction of a floating body is equal to the

ratio of the average density of the body to the density of the
fluid. Note that when the density ratio is equal to or greater than
one, the floating body becomes completely submerged.

From these discussions we can say that a body immersed in a fluid

1. rises to the surface of the fluid and floats when the density of the body is less than the density of the fluid
2. remains at rest at any point in the fluid when its density is equal to the density of the fluid,
3. sinks to the bottom when its density is greater than the density of the fluid,

The buoyant force is proportional to the density of the fluid.

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Stability of Immersed and Floating Bodies

An important application of the buoyancy concept is the assessment of the stability of immersed and floating bodies with
no external attachments. We use the “ball on the floor” analogy to explain the fundamental concepts of stability and
instability.
  Case (a) is stable since any small disturbance (someone moves the ball to the right or left) generates a restoring
force (due to gravity) that returns it to its initial position.
 Case (b) is neutrally stable because if someone moves the ball to the right or left, it would stay put at its new
location. It has no tendency to move back to its original location, nor does it continue to move away.
 Case (c) is a situation in which the ball may be at rest at the moment, but any disturbance, even an infinitesimal
one, causes the ball to roll off the hill—it does not return to its original position; rather it diverges from it. This
situation is unstable.

For an immersed or floating body in static equilibrium, the weight and the buoyant force acting on the body balance each
other, and such bodies are inherently stable in the vertical direction. If an immersed neutrally buoyant body is raised or
lowered to a different depth, the body will remain in equilibrium at that location. If a floating body is raised or lowered
somewhat by a vertical force, the body will return to its original position as soon as the external effect is removed.
Therefore, a floating body possesses vertical stability, while an immersed neutrally buoyant body is neutrally stable since
it does not return to its original position after a disturbance.

The rotational stability of an immersed body depends on the relative locations of the center of gravity G of the body and
the center of buoyancy B, which is the centroid of the displaced volume. An immersed body is stable if the body is
bottom-heavy and thus point G is directly below point B.

A rotational disturbance of the body in such cases produces a restoring moment to return the body to its original stable
position. Thus, a stable design for a submarine calls for the engines and the cabins for the crew to be located at the lower
half in order to shift the weight to the bottom as much as possible. Hot-air or helium balloons (which can be viewed as
being immersed in air) are also stable since the cage that carries the load is at the bottom. An immersed body whose center
of gravity G is directly above point B is unstable, and any disturbance will cause this body to turn upside down. A body
for which G and B coincide is neutrally stable. This is the case for bodies whose density is constant throughout. For such
bodies, there is no tendency to overturn or right themselves.

The rotational stability criteria are similar for floating bodies. Again, if the floating body is bottom-heavy and thus the
center of gravity G is directly below the center of buoyancy B, the body is always stable. But unlike immersed bodies, a
floating body may still be stable when G is directly above B.

This is because the centroid of the displaced volume shifts to the side to a point B+ during a rotational disturbance while
the center of gravity G of the body remains unchanged. If point B’ is sufficiently far, these two forces create a restoring
moment and return the body to the original position.
A measure of stability for floating bodies is the metacentric height GM, which is the distance between the center of
gravity G and the metacenter M—the intersection point of the lines of action of the buoyant force through the body before
and after rotation. The metacenter may be considered to be a fixed point for most hull shapes for small rolling angles up to
about 20°. A floating body is stable if point M is above point G, and thus GM is positive, and unstable if point M is below
point G, and thus GM is negative. In the latter case, the weight and the buoyant force acting on the tilted body generate an
overturning moment instead of a restoring moment,causing the body to capsize. The length of the metacentric height GM
above G is a measure of the stability: the larger it is, the more stable is the floating body.

Examples:

1. If you have a seawater aquarium, you have probably used a small cylindrical
glass tube with some lead-weight at its bottom to measure the salinity of the
water by simply watching how deep the tube sinks. Such a device that floats
in a vertical position and is used to measure the specific gravity of a liquid is
called a hydrometer (see Figure). The top part of the hydrometer extends
above the liquid surface, and the divisions on it allow one to read the specific
gravity directly. The hydrometer is calibrated such that in pure water it reads
exactly 1.0 at the air–water interface.
a) Obtain a relation for the specific gravity of a liquid as a function of
distance ∆𝑧 from the mark corresponding to pure water and
b) determine the mass of lead that must be poured into a 1-cm-diameter, 20-
cm-long hydrometer if it is to float halfway (the 10-cm mark) in pure
water.

Assumptions 1) The weight of the glass tube is negligible relative to the weight of the lead added.
2) The curvature of the tube bottom is disregarded.

Solution:
The hydrometer is in static equilibrium,
buoyant force FB exerted by water of the liquid = weight W of the hydrometer

Let 𝑧𝑜 = vertical distance between the bottom of the hydrometer and the free surface of water
2. A crane is used to lower weights into the sea (density = 1025 kg/m3) for an underwater construction project (see
Figure). Determine the tension in the rope of the crane due to a rectangular 0.4-m by 0.4-m by 3-m concrete block
(density = 2300 kg/m3) when it is (a) suspended in the air and (b) completely immersed in water.

Solution

Problems:
1. What is buoyant force? What causes it? What is the magnitude of the buoyant force acting on a submerged body
whose volume is V? What are the direction and the line of action of the buoyant force?
2. Consider two identical spherical balls submerged in water at different depths. Will the buoyant forces acting on
these two balls be the same or different? Explain.

3. Consider two 5-cm-diameter spherical balls—one made of aluminum, the other of iron—submerged in water.
Will the buoyant forces acting on these two balls be the same or different? Explain.

4. Consider a 3-kg copper cube and a 3-kg copper ball submerged in a liquid. Will the buoyant forces acting on these
two bodies be the same or different? Explain.

5. Discuss the stability of (a) a submerged and (b) a floating body whose center of gravity is above the center of
buoyancy.

6. The density of a liquid is to be determined by an old 1-cm-diameter cylindrical hydrometer whose division marks
are completely wiped out. The hydrometer is first dropped in water, and the water level is marked. The
hydrometer is then dropped into the other liquid, and it is observed that the mark for water has risen 0.5 cm above
the liquid–air interface. If the height of the water mark is 10 cm, determine the density of the liquid.
 7. A crane is used to lower weights into a lake for an underwater construction project. Determine the tension in the
rope of the crane due to a 3-ft-diameter spherical steel block (density = 494 lbm/ft3) when it is (a) suspended in
the air and (b) completely immersed in water.

8. The volume and the average density of an irregularly shaped body are to be determined by using a spring scale.
The body weighs 7200 N in air and 4790 N in water. Determine the volume and the density of the body. State
your assumptions.

9. Consider a large cubic ice block floating in seawater. The specific gravities of ice and seawater are 0.92 and
1.025, respectively. If a 10-cm-high portion of the ice block extends above the surface of the water, determine the
height of the ice block below the surface. Answer: 87.6 cm

10. A 170-kg granite rock (density = 2700 kg/m3) is dropped into a lake. A man dives in and tries to lift the rock.
Determine how much force the man needs to apply to lift it from the bottom of the lake. Do you think he can do
it?

11. It is said that Archimedes discovered his principle during a bath while thinking about how he could determine if
King Hiero’s crown was actually made of pure gold. While in the bathtub, he conceived the idea that he could
determine the average density of an irregularly shaped object by weighing it in air and also in water. If the crown
weighed 3.20 kgf (or 31.4 N) in air and 2.95 kgf (or 28.9 N) in water, determine if the crown is made of pure gold.
The density of gold is 19,300 kg/m3. Discuss how you can solve this problem without weighing the crown in
water but by using an ordinary bucket with no calibration for volume. You may weigh anything in air.

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