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Concept
Center of pressure (fluid mechanics)
Summary
In fluid mechanics, the center of pressure is the point where the total sum of a pressure field acts on a body, causing a force to act through that point. The total force vector acting at the center of pressure is the surface integral of the pressure vector field across the surface of the body. The resultant force and center of pressure location produce an equivalent force and moment on the body as the original pressure field.
Pressure fields occur in both static and dynamic fluid mechanics. Specification of the center of pressure, the reference point from which the center of pressure is referenced, and the associated force vector allows the moment generated about any point to be computed by a translation from the reference point to the desired new point. It is common for the center of pressure to be located on the body, but in fluid flows it is possible for the pressure field to exert a moment on the body of such magnitude that the center of pressure is located outside the body.
Since the forces of water on a dam are hydrostatic forces, they vary linearly with depth. The total force on the dam is then the integral of the pressure multiplied by the width of the dam as a function of the depth. The center of pressure is located at the centroid of the triangular shaped pressure field from the top of the water line. The hydrostatic force and tipping moment on the dam about some point can be computed from the total force and center of pressure location relative to the point of interest.
Center of pressure is used in sailboat design to represent the position on a sail where the aerodynamic force is concentrated.
The relationship of the aerodynamic center of pressure on the sails to the hydrodynamic center of pressure (referred to as the center of lateral resistance) on the hull determines the behavior of the boat in the wind. This behavior is known as the "helm" and is either a weather helm or lee helm.
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