MODULE 4

BUOYANCY AND STABILITY

Lecturer: Joseph Angelo R. Sabio

Chapter Outline
1. Buoyancy
2. Stability
Objectives
1. Calculate the buoyant force that acts on bodies submerged
in fluids.
2. Differentiate center of gravity, center of buoyancy, and
metacentric height.
3. Assess the stability of floating bodies.
1. Buoyancy 2

Buoyancy
The buoyant force is the resultant
force acting on a body that is
completely submerged or floating in
a fluid.
According to Archimedes’ Principle,
the buoyant force has a magnitude
equivalent to the weight of the
fluid displaced by the body and is
directed vertically upward.

𝑭𝑩 = 𝑾𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 = 𝜸𝑽𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅
1. Buoyancy 2

Buoyancy
A solid body dropped into a
fluid will sink, float, or
remain at rest at any point
in the fluid, depending on
its density relative to the
density of the fluid.
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 1
A 50kg plank of wood that is 10cm thick is floating on water. If
the density of the wood is 560kg/m3, calculate the buoyant
force on the wood and the depth submerged below the water.
Assume that the area is consistent through the thickness of the
wood.
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 1
W
Given:
𝑚 = 50𝑘𝑔
𝜌𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 = 560𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
𝑡 = 10𝑐𝑚
FB

Required: FB, tsub

1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 1
W
Given:
𝑚 = 50𝑘𝑔
𝜌𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 = 560𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
𝑡 = 10𝑐𝑚
FB

Required: FB, tsub

1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 1
W
Given:
𝑚 = 50𝑘𝑔
𝜌𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 = 560𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
𝑡 = 10𝑐𝑚
FB

Required: FB, tsub

Solution:
Since the wood is floating, the buoyant force is simply equal to
the weight of the wood.
𝑊 = 50𝑘𝑔 9.807𝑚/𝑠 2 = 𝟒𝟗𝟎. 𝟑𝟓𝑵
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 1
W
*Solve the depth submerged
𝐹𝐵 = 𝑊
𝑊 = 𝜌𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑔𝑉𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑
𝐹𝐵 = 𝛾𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑
FB

𝜌𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑔𝑉𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 = 𝛾𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑

𝜌𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑔𝐴𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 (𝑡) = 𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝐴𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 (𝑡𝑠𝑢𝑏 )
𝜌𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 (𝑡) = 𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 (𝑡𝑠𝑢𝑏 )
560 (10) = 1000 (𝑡𝑠𝑢𝑏 )
𝒕𝒔𝒖𝒃 = 𝟓. 𝟔𝒄𝒎
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 2
A log with diameter of 60cm and length of 3m is floating on sea
water (SG = 1.03). Assuming that the log is homogeneous (SG =
0.76), calculate the depth submerged in sea water.
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 2
W
Given:
𝑆𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑎 = 1.03
𝑆𝐺𝑙𝑜𝑔 = 0.76
FB d
Required: d
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 2
W
Given:
𝑆𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑎 = 1.03
𝑆𝐺𝑙𝑜𝑔 = 0.76
FB d
Required: d
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 2
W
Given:
𝑆𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑎 = 1.03
𝑆𝐺𝑙𝑜𝑔 = 0.76
FB d
Required: d
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 2
W
Given:
𝑆𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑎 = 1.03
𝑆𝐺𝑙𝑜𝑔 = 0.76
FB d
Required: d
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 2
W
Given:
𝑆𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑎 = 1.03
𝑆𝐺𝑙𝑜𝑔 = 0.76
FB d
Required: d

Solution:
Since the wood is floating, the buoyant force is simply equal to
the weight of the wood.
𝑊 = 𝛾𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑉
𝑁 𝜋
𝑊 = 0.76 9807 3 0.62 3 = 𝟔𝟑𝟐𝟐. 𝟏𝟐𝟗𝟕𝑵
𝑚 4
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 2
W
𝑊 = 6322.1297𝑁
𝐹𝐵 = 6322.1297𝑁

*Solve the Volume of FB d

Sea Water Displaced by
the Log
𝐹𝐵 = 𝛾𝑠𝑒𝑎 𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑
6322.1297 = 1.03(9807)𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑
𝑽𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 = 𝟎. 𝟔𝟐𝟓𝟗𝒎𝟑
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 2
3 W
𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 = 0.6259𝑚

*Solve the Area FB d

Submerged

𝐴 = 𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 /3𝑚
𝑨 = 𝟎. 𝟐𝟎𝟖𝟔𝒎𝟐
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 2
𝐴 = 0.2086𝑚2
d
𝐴 = 𝐴𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 + 𝐴𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒
2 360−𝜃 1 2
𝐴 = 𝜋𝑟 + 𝑟 sin 𝜃
360 2
2 360−𝜃 1
0.2086 = 𝜋(0.3) + (0.3)2 sin 𝜃
360 2
𝜽 = 𝟏𝟑𝟒. 𝟗𝟑𝟏𝟓°
𝜽
𝜃
𝑑=𝑟+ 𝑟 cos
2
𝟑𝟔𝟎 − 𝜽
𝒅 = 𝟎. 𝟒𝟏𝟓𝟎𝒎
1. Buoyancy 2

Buoyancy
You will notice that there is a relationship between the
submerged volume and the specific gravity of the fluid and
the floating object. (Assuming that the object is
homogeneous)
𝑊𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 = 𝐹𝐵
𝛾𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑉𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 = 𝛾𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑
𝛾𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑉𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 = 𝛾𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑

𝜸𝒐𝒃𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝑽𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅
= = %𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅
𝜸𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒊𝒅 𝑽𝒐𝒃𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 3
Consider an iceberg floating at sea. The specific gravity of
seawater and ice are 1.03 and 0.92. What percentage of the
ice berg is above the water.

Given: Solution:
𝛾𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑
𝑆𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑎 = 1.03 𝛾𝑠𝑒𝑎
=
𝑉𝑖𝑐𝑒
𝑆𝐺𝑖𝑐𝑒 = 0.92
𝑆𝐺𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝛾𝑤 𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑
=
Required: %above water 𝑆𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑎 𝛾𝑤 𝑉𝑖𝑐𝑒

𝑆𝐺𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑
=
𝑆𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑎 𝑉𝑖𝑐𝑒
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 3
𝑆𝐺𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑
=
𝑆𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑎 𝑉𝑖𝑐𝑒

𝑆𝐺𝑖𝑐𝑒
= %𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑
𝑆𝐺𝑠𝑒𝑎

%𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 = 𝟖𝟗. 𝟑𝟐𝟎𝟒%

%𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 = 𝟏𝟎. 𝟔𝟕𝟗𝟔%

1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 4
A homogeneous right circular cone is floating on water. The
radius of the base is 25cm and the height is 70cm. If the depth
submerged is 60cm, solve the density of the cone.
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 4
Given: 1
𝜋 0.25×
0.6 2
(0.6)
3 0.7
𝑟 = 0.25𝑚 %𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 = 1
𝜋 0.25 2 (0.7)
ℎ = 0.7𝑚 3
𝑑 = 0.6𝑚
Required: 𝜌𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒 %𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 = 𝟔𝟐. 𝟗𝟕𝟑𝟖%

Solution: *Solve the density of the cone

𝜌𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒
*Solve the %submerged = %𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑
𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑
%𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 = 𝜌𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒
𝑉𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒
= 0.629738
1
1000
𝜋𝑟𝑠𝑢𝑏 2 𝑑
3
%𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 = 1 𝝆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒆 = 𝟔𝟐𝟗. 𝟕𝟑𝟕𝟔𝒌𝒈/𝒎𝟑
𝜋𝑟 2 ℎ
3
1 2. Stability

Stability
The concept of stability is widely used in designing floating
bodies.
G – center of gravity of
the body

B – centroid of the
volume submerged

M – the point along the

neutral axis where the
buoyant force acts upon
tilting (metacenter)
1 2. Stability

Stability
The concept of stability is widely used in designing floating
bodies.
The floating body is
stable if the metacenter
is located above the
center of gravity of the
body.
1 2. Stability

Stability
The concept of stability is widely used in designing floating
bodies. The metacenter is
approximately dMB
distance from point B
𝑰
𝒅𝑴𝑩 =
𝑽𝒔𝒖𝒃
𝑰 is the moment of
inertia of the cross-
section about the axis of
tilting.
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 5
A 40cm long, 20cm wide, and 10cm thick wood plank is floating
on water. The specific gravity of the wood is 0.5. Assess the
stability of the floating body.
1 2. Stability

Sample Problem 5
Given:
𝑤 = 20𝑐𝑚
𝑙 = 40𝑐𝑚 Axis of Tilting
𝑡 = 10𝑐𝑚

Required: Stability

Solution:
*Locate the center of gravity of
the body (G) and the center of
buoyancy (B)
1 2. Stability

Sample Problem 5
Given:
𝑤 = 20𝑐𝑚
𝑙 = 40𝑐𝑚 Axis of Tilting
𝑡 = 10𝑐𝑚

Required: Stability
1 2. Stability

Sample Problem 5
Given:
𝑤 = 20𝑐𝑚
𝑙 = 40𝑐𝑚 Axis of Tilting
𝑡 = 10𝑐𝑚

Required: Stability
1 2. Stability

Sample Problem 5
G
Given: B
𝑤 = 20𝑐𝑚
𝑙 = 40𝑐𝑚 Axis of Tilting
𝑡 = 10𝑐𝑚

Required: Stability

Solution:
*Locate the center of gravity of
the body (G) and the center of
buoyancy (B)
G is located 2.5cm above B.
1 2. Stability

Sample Problem 5
G
*Locate the metacentric height B
(M)
𝐼
𝑑𝑀𝐵 = Axis of Tilting
𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏

1
𝐼= 𝑏ℎ3
12
1
𝐼= (40)(20)3
12
𝑰 = 𝟐𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔. 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟕𝒄𝒎𝟑

𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏 = 20(40)(5)
𝑽𝒔𝒖𝒃 = 𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎𝒄𝒎𝟑
1 2. Stability

Sample Problem 5 M
G
*Locate the metacentric height B
(M)
𝟑 Axis of Tilting
𝑰 = 𝟐𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔. 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟕𝒄𝒎
𝑽𝒔𝒖𝒃 = 𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟎𝒄𝒎𝟑
𝐼 26666.6667
𝑑𝑀𝐵 = =
𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏 4000

𝒅𝑴𝑩 = 𝟔. 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟕𝒄𝒎

Therefore, stable.
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 6
It is desired to float in water a wooden cone, 18cm in diameter
and 25cm high, with the apex downward. If the specific gravity
of the cone is 0.60, compute the submerged depth, distance
between the metacenter and center of buoyancy, and distance
between the metacenter and center of gravity.
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 6 18𝑐𝑚

Given:
𝑆𝐺𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 0.60
25𝑐𝑚
𝑦
Required: y, dMB, dMG

Solution:
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 6 18𝑐𝑚

Given:
𝑆𝐺𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 0.60
25𝑐𝑚
𝑦
Required: y, dMB, dMG

Solution:
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 6 18𝑐𝑚

Given:
𝑆𝐺𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 0.60
25𝑐𝑚
𝑦
Required: y, dMB, dMG

Solution:
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 6 18𝑐𝑚

Given:
𝑆𝐺𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 0.60
25𝑐𝑚
𝑦
Required: y, dMB, dMG

Solution:
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 6 18𝑐𝑚

Given:
𝑆𝐺𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑒 = 0.60
25𝑐𝑚
𝑦
Required: y, dMB, dMG

Solution:
*Solve the submerged depth
0.60 1 𝜋
𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 = ( )(18)2 25 *Solve the submerged depth
1.0 3 4
18𝑐𝑚 𝐷
𝑽𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 = 𝟏𝟐𝟕𝟐. 𝟑𝟒𝟓𝟎𝒄𝒎𝟑 =
25𝑐𝑚 𝑦
𝑫 = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟐𝒚
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 6 18𝑐𝑚

𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 = 1272.3450𝑐𝑚3
25𝑐𝑚
*Solve the submerged depth 𝑦
1 𝜋 2
𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 = 𝐷 𝑦
3 4
1 𝜋
1272.3450 = (0.72𝑦)2 𝑦
3 4

𝒚 = 𝟐𝟏. 𝟎𝟖𝟓𝟖𝒄𝒎
1. Buoyancy 2

Sample Problem 6 18𝑐𝑚

*Solve dMB
𝐼 M G
B
𝑑𝑀𝐵 =

21.0858

17.8639
𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏

18.75
15.8144
𝐼
𝑑𝑀𝐵 =
𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑏
𝜋 4
𝑟
4
𝑑𝑀𝐵 =
1272.3450

𝒅𝑴𝑩 = 𝟐. 𝟎𝟒𝟗𝟓𝒄𝒎

𝒅𝑴𝑮 = 𝟎. 𝟖𝟖𝟔𝟏𝒄𝒎
END