Appendix I
Conversion Factors for the SI System
of Units
(Note, the abbreviation SI means Système International d’Unitès, ref: 11th General Conference of
Weight and Measures, date 1960). The conversion factors shown below can be found in many doc-
uments, for example in References 1 to 7 are a few sources.
I.1 FUNDAMENTAL SI UNITS
Seven basic units
Quantity Name of SI unit Symbol
Amount of a substance mole mol
Current ampere A
Length metre m
Luminous intensity candela cd
Mass kilogram kg
Temperature Kelvin K
Time seconds s
Two additional SI units
Quantity Name of SI unit Symbol
Plain angle radian rad
Solid angle steradian sr
I.2 DERIVED NON-ELECTRICAL UNITS
Non-electrical units Name of SI unit Symbol
Energy, work done and heat joule J
Force newton N
(continued overleaf )
Handbook of Electrical Engineering: For Practitioners in the Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industry. Alan L. Sheldrake
2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd ISBN: 0-471-49631-6
598 HANDBOOK OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Non-electrical units Name of SI unit Symbol
Illumination lux lx
Luminous flux lumen lm
Mechanical stress pascal Pa
Power watt W
Pressure pascal Pa
I.3 DERIVED ELECTRICAL UNITS
Electrical units Name of SI unit Symbol
Capacitance farad F
Charge coulomb C
Conductance siemens S
Inductance henry H
Magnetic flux weber Wb
Magnetic flux density tesla T
Potential, potential volt V
difference, electromotive
force, (voltage, volt-drop)
Resistance ohm
I.4 CONVERSIONS
I.4.1 Length
Convert to Multiply by
fathom m 1.8288
ft, feet m 0.3048
in, inch mm 25.4
km miles 0.62137
m inch 39.3701
m ft 3.2808
mil = 0.001 inch mm 0.0254
mile km 1.60934
Mm inch 0.0393701
UK nautical mile km 1.85318
US nautical mile km 1.85200
yd, yard m 0.9144
CONVERSION FACTORS FOR THE SI SYSTEM OF UNITS 599
I.4.2 Area
Convert to Multiply by
acre m2 4046.86
acre km2 0.00404686
acre ha 0.404686
circular mil mm2 0.0005067
ft2 m2 0.0929030
in2 mm2 645.16
in2 m2 0.00064516
m2 ft2 10.7636
mile2 km2 2.58999
mile2 ha 258.999
mm2 inch2 0.001550
yd2 m2 0.836127
I.4.3 Volume
Convert to Multiply by
dm3 l 1.0
ft3 UKgal 6.2288
ft3 USgal 7.4805
ft3 dm3 28.3168
in3 mm3 16387.1
litre UK pints 1.7597
litre US pints 2.1127
litre Usgal 0.2641779
litre Ukgal 0.2199756
m3 litre 1000.0
m3 UKgal 219.97
m3 Usgal 264.172
oz (fluid ounce) cm3 28.4131
pint dm3 0.568261
pint l 0.568261
quart dm3 1.13652
UK gallon dm3 4.54609
UK gallon l 4.54609
UK gallon UK pint 8.00
UK gallon ft3 0.1605
UK gallon US gallon 1.20095
US gallon dm3 3.78541
US gallon l 3.78541
US gallon US pint 10.0
(continued overleaf )
600 HANDBOOK OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Convert to Multiply by
US pint UK pint 1.20095
US gallon ft3 0.1337
US gallon in3 231.03
US gallon UK gallon 0.832674
US barrel US gallons 42.0
US barrel UK gallons 34.97
yd3 m3 0.764555
I.4.4 Mass and Density
Convert to Multiply by
lb kg 0.45359237
lb/ft3 kg/m3 16.0185
lb/in3 Mg/m3 27.6799
kg/m3 lt/ft3 0.03243
lb/UK gal kg/m3 0.099776
lb/US gal kg/m3 0.119826
oz (ounce) g 28.3495
oz (troy) g 31.1035
slug kg 14.5939
UK ton (long ton) kg 1016.05
UK ton (long ton) tonne 1.01605
US ton (short ton) kg 907.185
kg lb 2.2046
I.4.5 Velocity and Acceleration
Convert to Multiply by
ft/min m/s 0.00508
ft/s m/s 0.3048
ft/s2 m/s2 0.3048
km/h m/s 0.277778
miles/hour m/s 0.44704
miles/hour km/h 1.609344
UK knot km/h 1.85318
US knot km/h 1.85200
CONVERSION FACTORS FOR THE SI SYSTEM OF UNITS 601
I.4.6 FORCE
Convert to Multiply by
dyne N 10−8
kgf N 9.80665
lbf N 4.44822
ozf N 0.278014
poundal N 0.138255
tonf (UK) kN 9.96402
I.4.7 Torque
Convert to Multiply by
dyne-cm N-m 10−7
kmf-m N-m 9.80665
lbf-ft N-m 1.35582
lbf-in N-m 0.112985
I.4.8 Power
Convert to Multiply by
ch (metric HP) W 735.499
ft-lbf/s W 1.35582
hp or HP W 745.700
hp or HP ft-lbf/s 550.0
hp or HP kgf-m/s 76.04
hp or HP W 745.70
kgf-m/s W 9.80665
kW ft-lbf/s 737.6
kW hp 1.3410
I.4.9 Energy and Work
Convert to Multiply by
BTU or btu kJ 1.05506
btu international cal 251.996
btu 15◦ C cal 252.074
btu thermochem cal 252.164
btu ft-lbf 778.6(778.17)
btu kcal 0.252
btu kgf-m 107.6
btu W-s 1055.0
(continued overleaf )
602 HANDBOOK OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Convert to Multiply by
btu kW-h 0.00002931
btu/ft3 kcal/m3 8.899
btu/lb kcal/kg 0.5556
erg J 10−7
ft-lbf J 1.35582
ft-pdl J 0.0421401
hp-h, HP-h MJ 2.68452
international-cal J 4.18680
kgf-m J 9.80665
kJ btu 0.9478
kJ kW-h 0.000278
kJ Btu 0.9478
kJ ft-lbf 737.6
kW-h MJ 3.6
litre-atmosphere J 101.328
therm btu 100000.0
therm MJ 105.506
thermo chemical-cal J 4.18400
15◦ C-cal J 4.18550
I.4.10 Pressure
Convert to Multiply by
atm, atmosphere kN/m2 101.325
atm, atmosphere Pa 101325.0
atm, atmosphere bar 1.01325
atm (international) lbf/in2 14.6959
atm (international) lbf/ft2 2116.22
atm (international) kgf/m2 10332.27
atm (international) in of water 60◦ F 407.17
atm (international) in of mercury 32◦ F 29.921
atm (international) mm of mercury 32◦ F 760.00
at (metric technical) kgf/cm2 1.0
at (metric technical) bar 0.98066
at (metric technical) lbf/in2 14.2233
bar lbf/in2 14.5
bar ft of water 33.455
bar m of water 10.2
bar mm of mercury 750.1
bar in of mercury 29.53
b, bar N/m2 100000.0
b, bar kPa 100.0
inches of water mb 2.49089
CONVERSION FACTORS FOR THE SI SYSTEM OF UNITS 603
Convert to Multiply by
inches of mercury mb 33.8639
inches of mercury N/m2 3386.39
kgf/cm2 kN/m2 98.0665
kgf/m2 N/m2 9.80665
lbf/in2 mb 68.9476
lbf/in2 kgf/cm2 0.0703
lbf/in2 N/m2 6894.76
mm of mercury mb 1.33322
N/m2 lbf/in2 0.000145
N/m2 ft of water 0.0003345
N/m2 mm of mercury 0.0075
N/m2 m of water 0.000102
N/m2 in of mercury 0.0002953
Pa, pascal N/m2 1.0
pdl/ft2 N/m2 1.48816
pressure in inches of water lbf/in2 0.036127
torr (mm of Hg) N/m2 133.322
UK ton/ft2 kN/m2 107.252
I.4.11 Moment of Inertia and Momentum
Convert to Multiply by
lb-in 2
kg-m 2
2.92640 × 10−4
lb-ft2 kg-m2 0.042140
lb-ft/s (linear) kg-m/s 0.138255
lb-ft/s (rotational) kg-m/s 0.042140
oz-in2 kg-m2 1.82900 × 10−6
I.4.12 Illumination
Convert to Multiply by
angular degrees rad 3.1415926536/180.0
cd/ft2 cd/m2 10.7639
cd/in2 cd/m2 1550.0
footcandle, lm/ft2 lx 10.7639
phot, lm/ft2 lx 10000.0
radians degrees 180.0/3.1415926536
=57.2957795131
604 HANDBOOK OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
I.4.13 Electricity and Magnetism
Convert to Multiply by
gauss tesla, T 10−4
gilbert A 10/4π
kWh J 3.5 × 106
kV/in kV/m 39.3701
maxwell weber, Wb 10−8
oersted A/m 1000/4π
V/mil kV/m 39.3701
I.4.14 Miscellaneous Quantities
Convert to Multiply by
◦ ◦
C K C + 273.15
◦ ◦
C F F = 32 + C9/5
◦ ◦
F C C = (F − 32)5/9
◦ ◦
F K K = (F + 459.67)5/9
◦ ◦
R F F = R − 459.67
◦ ◦
R K 5/9
ft3 / min USbarrels/day 256.475
imperial ton lb 2240.0
US short ton lb 2000.0
imperial slug lb 32.1740
in3 of water (60◦ F) in3 of mercury (32◦ F) 0.073551
in3 of mercury (32◦ F) in3 of water (60◦ F) 13.596
in3 of mercury (32◦ F) lb 0.4905
kg lb 2.20462
kN kgf 101.97
kN lbf 224.81
kg/s lb/h 7936.64
kg/s UKton/h 3.5431
lbf kgf 0.4536
lb/ft3 kg/m3 16.0185
lb/in3 g/cm3 27.68
m/s ft/s 3.28084
m3 /h ft3 / min 0.5886
m3 /h UKgal/min 3.666
m3 /h USgal/min 4.403
m3 /h USbarrels/day 150.955
m3 / kg ft3 /lb 16.02
Metric tonne kg 1000.0
miles/UKgal km/litre 0.354005
UKgal/mile litre/km 2.82481
UKgal/min USbarrels/day 41.175
Usgal/min USbarrels/day 34.286
CONVERSION FACTORS FOR THE SI SYSTEM OF UNITS 605
Convert to Multiply by
USbarrels/day USgal/min 0.029
USbarrels/day ft3 /h 0.2339
calorific value, btu/ft3 kJ/m3 37.2589
specific heat capacity J/kg-◦ CorK 4186.8
(btu/lb-◦ F)
specific heat capacity kJ/m3 -◦ CorK 67.0661
(btu-s/ft3 -◦ F)
specific entropy J/kg-◦ CorK 4186.8
(btu/lb-◦ F)
thermal resistivity m2 -s-◦ C/J-m 6.93347
(ft2 -h-◦ F/btu-in)
specific energy J/kg 2327.0
(btu/lb)
heat flow rate W or J/s 0.293071
(btu/hour)
heat flow rate W 1.163
(kcal/hour)
thermal conductivity btu/ft-h-◦ R 0.2388
(kW/m-◦ K)
I.5 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ORGANISATION (ISO) CONDITIONS
Standard altitude 0.0m, sea level
Standard pressure 29.9212 inches of mercury
1.013250 bar or 14.6959 lbf/in2
Standard relative humidity 0.0
Standard temperature 15.0◦ C or 59.0◦ F
I.6 STANDARD TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE (STP) CONDITIONS
Standard pressure 29.9212 inches of mercury
1.013250 bar or 14.6959 lbf/in2
Standard temperature 0.0◦ C or 32.0◦ F
I.7 REGULARLY USED CONSTANTS
Constants Numerical value Symbol
◦
Absolute zero temperature −273.16 C
Absolute zero temperature −459.69◦ F
Absolute zero temperature 0.0◦ K
(continued overleaf )
606 HANDBOOK OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Constants Numerical value Symbol
Acceleration 9.80665 m/s2 g
due to gravity 32.174 ft/s2 g
Base of natural logarithms 2.7182818285 e
Density of water 1.0 kg/m3 =
0.062428 lb/ft3
Pi 3.1415926536 π
Specific volume of water 1.0 m3 / kg =
16.01850 ft3 /lb
I.8 REGULARLY USED PREFIXES
Pico 10−12
Nano 10−9
Micro 10−6
Milli 10−3
Centi 10−2
Deci 10−1
Kilo 10+3
Mega 106
Giga 109
Tera 1012
I.9 REFERENCES
1. Electrical Review International. Vol. 200, No.14, p. l8, dated 08/04/1977.
2. K. Gieck. Technical Formulae. Pub. Gieck-Verlag, Germany. 7th Edition ISBN 3 920-37920-9
3. Flow of Fluids through Valves, Fittings, and Pipes. Metric Edition – SI Units. Technical Paper No.410M.
Pub. Crane Ltd. UK. 6th Printing 1986
4. Kempe’s Engineers Year Book 1988, Chapter A1. 93rd Edition Pub. Morgan-Grampian Book Publishing Co.
Ltd. 40 Beresford Street, London SE18 6BQ
5. ISO 1000:1992(E) SI units and recommendations for the use of their multiples and of certain other units, with
amendments. 3rd Edition, dated 1992-11-01.
6. Instant metric conversion. (Serial No. 92). Edited and published by J. A. M. Gaboury Montreal, Canada.
1994 ISBN 2 980-20791-18
7. Y. R. Mayhew and G. F. C. Rogers. Thermodynamic and transport properties of fluids. 2nd Edition, 1968,
Oxford, Basil Blackwell, Blackwell and Mott Ltd.