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A large tank is filled with three liquids of densities ρ, 2ρ and 3ρ up to heights of ^h ⁄ 6, ^h ⁄ 3 and ^h ⁄ 2 respectively. What will be the ratio of the instantaneous velocity of discharge through a small opening at the base of the tank in this case to that if the container is filled with the liquid of density ρ only? (assume that the diameter of the opening is negligible compared to the height of the liquid column)

I had been asked this question by my school teacher while I was bunking the class.

My query is from Hydrostatic Force on Plane Area topic in portion Hydrostatic Forces on Surfaces of Fluid Mechanics

1 Answer

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To solve this problem, we need to use Torricelli’s law to determine the instantaneous velocity of discharge through a small opening at the base of the tank. The law is derived from Bernoulli’s principle and is given by:

v=2ghv = \sqrt{2gh}v=2gh​

where:

  • vvv is the instantaneous velocity of discharge,
  • ggg is the acceleration due to gravity,
  • hhh is the height of the liquid column above the opening.

In this problem, we have two cases to consider:

  1. A tank filled with three layers of liquids with different densities.
  2. A tank filled with a single liquid of density ρ\rhoρ only.

Step 1: Instantaneous velocity of discharge for the tank with three liquid layers

For this case, the tank is filled with three liquids:

  • Liquid 1 has density ρ\rhoρ and height h6\frac{h}{6}6h​,
  • Liquid 2 has density 2ρ2\rho2ρ and height h3\frac{h}{3}3h​,
  • Liquid 3 has density 3ρ3\rho3ρ and height h2\frac{h}{2}2h​.

The pressure at the base is the sum of the pressures exerted by each liquid layer. The pressure due to a liquid column is given by:

P=ρghP = \rho g hP=ρgh

For the three layers:

  • The pressure from the first liquid (density ρ\rhoρ, height h6\frac{h}{6}6h​) is: P1=ρg(h6)P_1 = \rho g \left( \frac{h}{6} \right)P1​=ρg(6h​)
  • The pressure from the second liquid (density 2ρ2\rho2ρ, height h3\frac{h}{3}3h​) is: P2=2ρg(h3)P_2 = 2\rho g \left( \frac{h}{3} \right)P2​=2ρg(3h​)
  • The pressure from the third liquid (density 3ρ3\rho3ρ, height h2\frac{h}{2}2h​) is: P3=3ρg(h2)P_3 = 3\rho g \left( \frac{h}{2} \right)P3​=3ρg(2h​)

Total pressure at the base is the sum of these pressures:

Ptotal=P1+P2+P3=ρg(h6)+2ρg(h3)+3ρg(h2)P_{\text{total}} = P_1 + P_2 + P_3 = \rho g \left( \frac{h}{6} \right) + 2\rho g \left( \frac{h}{3} \right) + 3\rho g \left( \frac{h}{2} \right)Ptotal​=P1​+P2​+P3​=ρg(6h​)+2ρg(3h​)+3ρg(2h​)

Simplifying:

Ptotal=ρg(h6+2h3+3h2)P_{\text{total}} = \rho g \left( \frac{h}{6} + \frac{2h}{3} + \frac{3h}{2} \right)Ptotal​=ρg(6h​+32h​+23h​)

To combine the terms, find a common denominator (6):

Ptotal=ρg(h6+4h6+9h6)=ρg×14h6=7ρgh3P_{\text{total}} = \rho g \left( \frac{h}{6} + \frac{4h}{6} + \frac{9h}{6} \right) = \rho g \times \frac{14h}{6} = \frac{7 \rho g h}{3}Ptotal​=ρg(6h​+64h​+69h​)=ρg×614h​=37ρgh​

Now, the velocity of discharge is:

v1=2Ptotalρ=2×7ρgh3ρ=14gh3v_1 = \sqrt{\frac{2 P_{\text{total}}}{\rho}} = \sqrt{\frac{2 \times \frac{7 \rho g h}{3}}{\rho}} = \sqrt{\frac{14 g h}{3}}v1​=ρ2Ptotal​​​=ρ2×37ρgh​​​=314gh​​

Step 2: Instantaneous velocity of discharge for the tank with liquid of density ρ\rhoρ only

In this case, the tank is filled with a single liquid of density ρ\rhoρ and height hhh. The pressure at the base is:

Ptotal=ρghP_{\text{total}} = \rho g hPtotal​=ρgh

The velocity of discharge is:

v2=2Ptotalρ=2ρghρ=2ghv_2 = \sqrt{\frac{2 P_{\text{total}}}{\rho}} = \sqrt{\frac{2 \rho g h}{\rho}} = \sqrt{2 g h}v2​=ρ2Ptotal​​​=ρ2ρgh​​=2gh​

Step 3: Ratio of the velocities

Now, we calculate the ratio of the velocity in the first case (with three layers of liquids) to the velocity in the second case (with a single liquid of density ρ\rhoρ):

Ratio=v1v2=14gh32gh=143×2=146=73≈1.53\text{Ratio} = \frac{v_1}{v_2} = \frac{\sqrt{\frac{14 g h}{3}}}{\sqrt{2 g h}} = \sqrt{\frac{14}{3 \times 2}} = \sqrt{\frac{14}{6}} = \sqrt{\frac{7}{3}} \approx 1.53Ratio=v2​v1​​=2gh​314gh​​​=3×214​​=614​​=37​​≈1.53

Final Answer:

The ratio of the instantaneous velocity of discharge through a small opening at the base of the tank in the first case (three liquid layers) to that in the second case (single liquid of density ρ\rhoρ) is approximately 1.53.

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