A vertical off-shore structure is built to withstand a maximum stress of 109 Pa. Is the structure suitable for putting up on top of an oil well in the ocean? Take the depth of the ocean to be roughly 3 km, and ignore ocean currents.
Given:
Maximum stress the structure can withstand is (P) = 109 Pa
Depth of the ocean (d) = 3 km = 3 × 103 m
Density of water (ρ) = 1000 kg/m3
We know that pressure due to depth d = ρgd
Pressure due to depth d of water = ρgd
= 1000 kg/m3 × 9.8 m/s2 × (3 × 103m)
= 2.94 × 107 Pa
The maximum allowable stress for the structure(109Pa ) is greater than the pressure of the sea (2.94 × 107Pa). Hence the structure can be put on top of an oil well in the ocean.