Hydrostatic Force: Where Does it Act?

by Katelyn Leal

 

Submitted : Spring 2012

When constructing an object or edifice it is crucial to find where a force will act on it and whether or not the item will be able to support that force. For this reason, engineers must consider where the force of water (hydrostatic force) will act on dam and calculate its force. Thus, given arbitrary coordinates for the width and height of an irregular dam principals of integration for area, and resultant force were used, along with their relationship to the properties of an object’s first and second moment of inertia. All calculations are completed on an EXCEL© spreadsheet with their respective formulas for automatic calculation and fewer mistakes. Utilizing the gathered information, the results are that the hydrostatic force which acts at the center of pressure, located at 2.8006ft, is 5091.1 lbs_F.

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