Name: how buoyancy keeps bodies stable in water
Uploaded: 2025-02-13T15:43:11.000Z
Duration: 1 min 11 s
Channel: JoVE

When a stationary body is fully or partially submerged in a fluid, the fluid exerts a force on the body, called the buoyant force.
This force acts through a point known as the center of buoyancy.
The buoyant force is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body and acts vertically upward, this phenomenon is known as Archimedes&#39; principle.
A body is in stable equilibrium if it returns to its original position after being displaced, which defines its stability.
When the body tilts, the center of buoyancy shifts, and the body&#39;s axis aligns with the vertical line through the new center of buoyancy, known as the metacenter, which determines the body&#39;s stability.
A completely submerged body remains in stable equilibrium during small rotations if the center of gravity is below the center of buoyancy.
When a floating body tilts, the buoyant force moves to create a restoring couple with the weight, even if the center of gravity is above the center of buoyancy.
However, tall, slender bodies may experience an overturning couple, leading to instability.

buoyancy and stability for submerged and floating bodies

Buoyancy and Stability for Submerged and Floating Bodies

In fluid mechanics, buoyancy and stability are key concepts for understanding the behavior of submerged and floating bodies. When a stationary body is fully or partially submerged in a fluid, the fluid exerts a force on the body known as the buoyant force. This force acts vertically upward through a point called the center of buoyancy, which is the center of the displaced fluid volume. According to Archimedes&#39; principle, the magnitude of the buoyant force is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body.
The stability of a body in a fluid depends on its ability to return to its original position after displacement. For submerged bodies, stability is determined by the positions of the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy. If the center of gravity is below the center of buoyancy, the body remains in stable equilibrium. For floating bodies, stability arises from the interaction between the buoyant force and the body&#39;s weight. When the body tilts, the center of buoyancy shifts, creating a restoring couple that returns the body to equilibrium. However, tall, slender bodies may experience an overturning couple, causing instability and potential capsizing.

When a stationary body is fully or partially submerged in a fluid, the fluid exerts a force on the body, called the buoyant force.
This force acts through ...

buoyancy-and-stability-for-submerged-and-floating-bodies

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JoVE Core

Civil Engineering

Unit 1

Fluid Statics

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

how buoyancy keeps bodies stable in water

Buoyancy and stability explain how submerged and floating bodies behave in a fluid. When a body is fully or partly under water and stays still, the fluid pushes upward on it. That upward push is called the buoyant force.

The buoyant force acts through the center of buoyancy. This is the center of the displaced fluid volume. Archimedes’ principle says the buoyant force equals the weight of the fluid displaced by the body.

Stability describes whether a body can return to its original position after it is moved. For submerged bodies, stability depends on the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy. If the center of gravity is below the center of buoyancy, the body stays in stable equilibrium.

Floating bodies become stable through the balance between buoyant force and weight. If the body tilts, the center of buoyancy shifts. That shift creates a restoring couple that turns the body back toward equilibrium. Tall, slender bodies may instead develop an overturning couple, which can make them unstable and lead to capsizing.

How Buoyancy Keeps Bodies Stable in Water

how-buoyancy-keeps-bodies-stable-in-water

concept of pressure at a point

Fluid Pressure at One Point

Fluid pressure at one point is the focus of this lesson. It shows that pressure in a fluid is the same in every direction at a single location. This happens because fluid molecules move randomly and collide with nearby molecules in a balanced way. At a given point, the pressure depends on the surrounding fluid molecules. It is affected by depth and density, not by the shape of the container or the way the fluid is oriented. In a fluid at rest, the pressure acts equally in all directions...

basic equation for pressure field

Pressure Balance in a Fluid Element

The pressure field equation describes how forces stay balanced inside a small fluid element. In fluid mechanics, this balance helps explain how pressure changes from one place to another within a fluid. Two main force types act on a fluid segment: surface forces and body forces. Surface forces come from pressure differences across nearby points in the fluid, so they depend on the local pressure gradient, which is the rate of pressure change with position. Body forces are spread through the...

pressure variation in a fluid at rest

Hydrostatic Pressure and Fluid Depth

Hydrostatic pressure describes how pressure changes with depth in a fluid at rest. In a stationary fluid, the fluid acceleration is zero, so the forces inside the fluid balance. That means pressure at a point below the surface depends on depth, not on the container’s shape or size. Only vertical forces affect the pressure change in this situation. These forces come from the weight of the fluid above a point. When pressure is compared at two different levels, the difference in pressure equals...

measurement of fluid pressure

Manometers and Gauges for Fluid Pressure

Fluid pressure is measured with manometers and related gauges. These tools use a liquid column to show pressure differences. The height of the column gives a simple reading of the force the fluid exerts. A basic manometer is the piezometer. It is a vertical tube that is open at the top and filled with the same fluid being measured. When the tube connects to a container, the fluid height in the tube matches the pressure inside that container. For more detailed measurements, the U-tube...

hydrostatic pressure force on a plane surface

hydrostatic-pressure-force-on-a-plane-surface

Hydrostatic Pressure on Submerged Surfaces

Hydrostatic pressure creates force on submerged plane surfaces. The force depends on the fluid pressure and the area of the surface. The way that force acts changes with the surface position. For a horizontal surface, the depth stays the same across the whole area. That means the pressure is uniform. The resultant force equals the pressure at that depth multiplied by the surface area, and it acts through the centroid of the surface. For a vertical surface, pressure increases as depth...

hydrostatic pressure force on a curved surface

hydrostatic-pressure-force-on-a-curved-surface

Finding the Force on Curved Fluid Surfaces

Hydrostatic pressure on curved surfaces is an important idea in fluid mechanics. It helps explain how water pushes on curved structures in civil engineering. Examples include reservoirs, dams, and storage tanks. The pressure changes in both size and direction along the curve. To find the total hydrostatic force on a curved surface, engineers isolate the fluid volume next to that surface. They then study the forces on imaginary horizontal and vertical planes that cut through the volume. The...

Buoyancy and stability explain how submerged and floating bodies behave in a fluid. When a body is fully or partly under water and stays still, the fluid pushes upward on it. That upward push is called the buoyant force. The buoyant force acts through the center of buoyancy. This is the center of the displaced fluid volume. Archimedes’ principle says the buoyant force equals the weight of the fluid displaced by the body. Stability describes whether a body can return to its original position...

design example: application of archimedes' principle

design-example-application-of-archimedes-principle

Floating Block Buoyancy and Center of Buoyancy

Archimedes' principle is used to analyze the buoyant force on a wooden block that floats in seawater. The block has a rectangular section, and its dimensions, specific gravity, and the specific weight of seawater are used in the calculation. This setup shows how floating bodies stay in equilibrium. The first step is to find the weight of the block from its volume and specific gravity. Then Archimedes' principle is applied. The weight of the displaced water must equal the weight of the block.

key terms and concepts

Learn how buoyant force, the center of buoyancy, and Archimedes’ principle explain why submerged and floating bodies stay stable or capsize.

How Buoyancy Keeps Bodies Stable in Water | JoVE K12

JoVE Core Civil Engineering offers a foundational exploration of essential construction materials such as bricks, stones, steel, wood, and concrete, along with fluid mechanics topics like flow over immersed bodies, open channel flow, and dimensional modeling. It also covers key surveying concepts, including leveling, traverse adjustments, curve design, topographic mapping, and geospatial technologies (GPS & GIS). Science-in-action videos showcase laboratory research on materials, fluids, and surveying practices in real-world engineering systems.

How Buoyancy Keeps Bodies Stable in Water

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