Buoyancy and Stability of a Floating Body

Purposes:
(a) To verify Archimedes principle of buoyancy
(b) To determine the meta-center height and verify the stability criteria of a floating object.
Apparatus:
Sketch a labeled schematic diagram of the Armfield Floating Tray assembly.
Theory: (Ref. Munson/Young/Okiishi A Brief Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, p.53-56.)
(a) From the basic hydrostatic equation ( = ) for pressure variation in a liquid due to gravity, derive Archimedes
formula for buoyant force:
=
where is the specific weight of the liquid and is the displaced volume in the liquid.
(b) Describe the stability criteria of a floating object in terms of the meta-center height, and show that for a floating
rectangular tray, the meta-center height is

= ( ) (
)
tan()
where is the total mass of the tray and is the tilting angle due to the horizontal displacement () of a sliding mass
() in the tray.
Procedure:
1. Weigh the sliding mass alone. Then re-attach it at the symmetrical location and use the spring balance to measure the
total weight of the entire tray assembly.
2. Adjust the vertical position of the block on the mast so that the center of gravity () of the assembly is at the bottom of
the mast by hanging the entire assembly from this point on the mast so that it is level. This point is 5 above the xaxis of the sliding mass.
3. Place the tray assembly in water and adjust the position of the sliding mass so that the tilting angle of the assembly is
zero.
4. Measure the immersed depth () by taking readings at all four corners and taking the average.
5. Move the sliding mass to the right so that the tray is tilted by about 10, and read the exact displacement . Disturb
the floating tray slightly to check its stability.
6. Move the block on the vertical mast to a new position so that the center of gravity () of the assembly is shifted upward
by about 5 . This is done by hanging the entire assembly from this new point on the mast so that it is level, similar
to step 2.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until the block reaches the top of the vertical mast.
Data & Results:
1. For the initial upright floating condition, calculate the volume of water displaced by the tray and the buoyant force.
Compare with the total weight and conclude whether Archimedes principle is verified.
2. For each -location, calculate the meta-center height. Plot the data, observe the trend and conclude if stability
decreases as the meta-center height is also decreased. Also extrapolate the plot to estimate the -location for the
floating tray to become unstable and capsize.
Conclusion:

Data:

Date ___________________

Specific weight of water: = 9800 /3

(a) Properties of the Floating Tray
Length, ()

0.035

Width, ()

Immersed Depth, ()

Displacement Volume, (3 )

Traversing Mass, ()

Buoyant Force, ()

Total Mass, ()

Total Weight, ()

(b) Stability Test

()
()
()

0.02