Hydrostatic Thrust
On a Plane Surface
Acts normal to the surface on the centre of pressure with a magnitude of:
Thrust=submerged area×Pc
C is the centroid of the submerged area. Pc is the pressure at the
centroid.
Centre of Pressure
For Common Shapes
Proof

Direction
All forces acting on the surface is normal to the surface. Therefore F is
normal to the surface.
Magnitude
F=∫AdF=∫ApdA=∫AysinθρgdA
F=sinθρg∫AydA=sinθρg⋅Ayc=A⋅ycsinθρg
F=APc
Line of Action
F⋅yp=∫AydF
yp=∫AdF∫AydF=∫AysinθρgdA∫Ay(ysinθρg)dA=∫AydA∫Ay2dA
yp=AycIoo=yc+AycIcc
On a Curved Surface
Fx=Thrust exerted on the vertical projection of the submerged surface
Fy=Weight of the fluid above submerged surface

For the equilibrium of the fluid volume ABCDA.
Fy=WABCDA
For the equilibrium of the fluid volume ABEA.
Fx=FAE
Written by November 3, 2026 · 2 min read ·
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