42 Chapter 2

low. Finally, instead of dealing with pressure as our eort variable, elevation head is
used as the eort variable. These are related through the weight density where:
Pressure (weight density)  (elevation head) =   h
This leads to the governing equilibrium equation (law of continuity):
Flow in ow out Rate of change in stored volume
or
qin  qout Cdh=dt
If h is the height of liquid in the tank, the C simply represents the cross-sectional area
of the tank (which may or may not be constant as the level changes). Of course in
reviewing previous examples and examining Table 2, this is simply an alternative
form of the electrical capacitor equation (I C dV=dt) or the thermal capacitor
equation from the previous section. To illustrate the concepts in an example, let
us consider the system of two tanks represented in Figure 18 and develop the dier-
ential equations for the system.
qi liquid ow rate into the system
qo liquid ow rate leaving the system from water exiting
qb liquid ow rate from tank 1 into tank 2
h1 liquid level (height) in tank 1
h2 liquid level (height) in tank 2
C1 capacitance of water in tank 1 (cross-sectional area)
C2 capacitance of water in tank 2 (cross-sectional area)
R1 resistance to ow between tank 1 and tank 2 (valve)
R2 resistance to ow between tank 2 and discharge port (valve)
Governing equation for tank 1:
qi  qb C1 dh1 =dt
Governing equation for tank 2:
qb  qo C2 dh2 =dt
Relationships between variables:
h1  h2 h2
qb qo
R1 R2

Figure 18 Liquid level system.