When a surface is immerged in a fluid, such as water, hydrostatic forces develop on the contacting surface due to the fluid. Knowledge about these forces is of great importance in hydraulic systems, such as in the design of storage tanks, ships, and dams (Kudela 1).
1. Relevant Theory
For stationary fluids (fluids at rest) it is known that the force must be perpendicular to the surface as a reaction to the weight of the object, and because there are no shear stresses present. It is also known that the pressure suffers a linear variation with the depth if
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