Buoyancy and floating

Question

What would it takes to keep a 100kg cylinder afloat vertical in water with a diameter of 50 cm and a height of 200 cm

jw0752 · Answer

Hi Damion, This cylinder would displace 100 liters of water. To keep it vertical you would have to find some way to keep its center of gravity below the water line otherwise it will seek a position of lowest energy on its side. This would probably involve adding more weight as ballast to one end of the cylinder. As it is stated the 100kg would require 1/4 of the volume of the cylinder to displace enough water to float it so you have adequate volume to support near 400 kg. John

jw0752 · Answer

Another thought. If you can hang the ballast outside the cylinder like a canon ball on a chain from the bottom of the cylinder this will do the best job of lowering the center of gravity. John

dougw · Answer

As John indicates, if you have a rod rigidly attached to the bottom of the drum with a weight on the end of the rod equal to the weight of the empty drum, it will float high and vertical, even in waves.

Buoyancy and floating

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