Serway & Jewett — Fluid Mechanics: Problem 43

You and your father are designing a waterfall for your backyard swimming pool. At the top of the waterfall is a tank containing water that is kept to a depth \( d = 0.280 \text{ m} \) by a pump. As shown in Figure P14.43, there is a small hatch of height \( h = 0.100 \text{ m} \) and width \( w = 0.150 \text{ m} \), hinged at the top, that can be used to turn on and turn off the supply of water to the waterfall. You want to attach a simple latch at the center of the bottom of the hatch and are trying to decide what type of latch to buy at your local hardware store. To make that decision, you need to determine the force that the latch must be able to withstand to keep the hatch closed.