Kg/cm² – Kilogram Per Square Centimetre Pressure Unit - SensorsONE

Kilogram or Kilogram Force per Square Centimeter (kg/cm2 or kgf/cm2) is a pressure unit that has been largely superseded by the SI unit system of pascal units. It is the metric equivalent of pounds per square inch (psi). 1 kg/cm2 equals 98,066.5 pascals.

Similarly to psi, kg/cm2 is part of a group of pressure units that relate pressure with weight. This is convenient in applications where a pressure is applied to generate a load such as in material testing. Typically a piston cylinder device is utilised to convert the applied pressure into a force. The force can be easily calculated in kilograms weight by multiplying the kg/cm2 pressure by the area to determine the weight applied in kilogrammes.

The most popular way of writing Kilogrammes per Square Centimeter is as kg/cm2, even though kgf/cm2 describes its meaning more accurately. The conventional way of writing it is misleading to some, since it reads as Mass / Unit Area and leads to confusion since pressure is always defined as Force / Unit Area.

To calculate a kg/cm2 reading into another pressure unit you can multiply it by one of the values in the table below. To convert a value to kgf/cm2 just click on the relevant unit below to obtain the reverse conversion factor.

Alternatively If you have a number of values to convert you can use the pressure converter to save time.

Find out how kg/cm2 is calculated from SI units and view the alternative ways of writing kg/cm2.

Featured kg/cm2 - kilograms per square centimetre unit range pressure measurement products

• One transmitter for measuring steam temperature to 150°C and pressure to 4kg/cm² g

Conversion Factors

• 0.980665 bar
• 14.2233 psi
• 980.665 mbar
• 98066.5 N/m²
• 98066.5 Pa
• 980.665 hPa
• 98.0665 kPa
• 0.0980665 MPa
• 1 kgf/cm²
• 10000 mmH2O 4°C (39.2°F)
• 1000 cmH2O 4°C (39.2°F)
• 10 mH2O 4°C (39.2°F)
• 393.701 inH2O 4°C (39.2°F)
• 32.8084 ftH2O 4°C (39.2°F)
• 735.559 mmHg 0°C (32°F)
• 73.5559 cmHg 0°C (32°F)
• 28.9590 inHg 0°C (32°F)
• 735.559 Torr
• 735559 mTorr
• 0.967841 atm
• 1 at
• 980665 dyn/cm²
• 227.573 oz/in²
• 735559 µHg 0°C (32°F)
• 0.00634971 tsi (uk, long)
• 0.00711167 tsi (usa, short)
• 1.02408 tsf (usa, short)
• 2048.16 psf
• 1000 g/cm²

Please note that the conversion factors above are accurate to 6 significant figures.

Featured kg/cm2 - kilograms per square centimetre unit range pressure measurement products

• One transmitter for measuring steam temperature to 150°C and pressure to 4kg/cm² g

Derivation

The calculation below shows how the pressure unit Kilogram per Square Centimetre (kg/cm²) is derived from SI Units.

Formula

• Pressure = Force / Area
• Force = Mass x Acceleration
• Acceleration = Distance / (Time x Time)

SI Units

• Mass: kilogram (kg)
• Length: metre (m)
• Time: second (s)
• Force: newton (N)
• Pressure: pascal (Pa)

Input Values

• 1 Kilogram = 1 kg
• 1 Centimetre = 0.01 m
• 1 Square Centimetre = 0.01 m x 0.01 m = 0.0001 m²
• Acceleration = Standard Gravity = 9.80665 m/s²

Calculation

• 1 Kilogram Force = 1 kg x 9.80665 m/s² = 9.80665 N
• 1 kg/cm² Pressure = 9.80665 N / 0.0001 m² = 98066.5 Pa

Featured kg/cm2 - kilograms per square centimetre unit range pressure measurement products

• One transmitter for measuring steam temperature to 150°C and pressure to 4kg/cm² g

Alternate Descriptions

These are the different versions used for identifying kg/cm² that you may find elsewhere.

• Kilogram per Square Centimetre
• Kilogram Force per Square Centimetre
• Kilogram per Square Centimeter
• Kilogram Force per Square Centimeter
• Kilogrammes per Square Centimetre
• Kilogrammes Force per Square Centimetre
• Kilogrammes per Square Centimeter
• Kilogrammes Force per Square Centimeter
• Kilograms per Square Centimetre
• Kilograms Force per Square Centimetre
• Kilograms per Square Centimeter
• Kilograms Force per Square Centimeter
• Kilopond per Square Centimetre
• Kilopond per Square Centimeter
• Kiloponds per Square Centimetre
• Kiloponds per Square Centimeter
• kg/cm²
• kgf/cm²
• kg/sq cm
• kgf/sq cm
• kg/cm^2
• kgf/cm^2
• kp/cm²
• ksc

Conversion Tables

Select a look up table for converting a pressure reading in kilograms force per square centimetre to other measurement units.

• bar  »  1 to 1000 kg/cm² → 0.980665 to 980.665 bar
• psi  »  1 to 1000 kg/cm² → 14.2233 to 14,223.3 psi
• kPa  »  0.01 to 100.00 kg/cm² → 0.98067 to 980.665 kPa
• MPa  »  1 to 1000 kg/cm² → 0.0980665 to 98.0665 MPa
• N/mm²  »  1 to 1000 kg/cm² → 0.0980665 to 98.0665 N/mm²

Featured kg/cm2 - kilograms per square centimetre unit range pressure measurement products

• One transmitter for measuring steam temperature to 150°C and pressure to 4kg/cm² g

Help

kg/m² vs kg/cm²

Why not use kgf/m² instead of kgf/cm²?

kgf/cm2 is equal to 0.980665 bar, 10 mH2O  & 14.22 psi, so it is the right size of unit for many applications, particularly hydraulics where kgf and cm2 are measured separately.

kgf/m2 is equal to 0.0980665 mbar, 1mmH2O & 0.001422 psi, so it is a very small unit. Typically kgf is used in hydraulics so the pressure is high, and therefore this unit is not practical to use.

There is nothing stopping you using kgf/m2, it’s just not very useful for hydraulics, but it would be for low pressure, but other units such as inH2O and pascals tend to be the most popular.

kp/cm² meaning

What are kp/cm² units?

kp/cm² means kiloponds per square centimetre which is a measure of pressure or tensile strength. The unit is exactly equal to kilogram force per square centimetre (kgf/cm² or kg/cm²).

A kilopond is a force equal to the weight of 1 kg being pulled by an acceleration of 9.80665 m/s² (standard gravity). A square centimetre represents the area over which the force is distributed.

Does kg/cm² = kgf/cm²

Is it correct to write kg/sq cm as a unit of pressure?

It is not strictly correct, since kg is not a measure of force but of mass, but you will find that most documentation and instrumentation refer to the pressure unit as kg/cm² rather than the more correct form of kgf/cm² (kilogram force per square centimetre).

When you see kg/cm² written as a pressure unit it is assumed to be kgf/cm² since pressure can only be a quantity of ‘force’ divided by ‘area’. This is self-evident when you consider that the widely used ‘psi’ pressure unit is also a very popular shortened form of pfsi (pounds force per square inch).

kgf is the force created by the earth’s standard gravity at sea level of 9.80665m/s² acting on a 1 kilogram mass and is defined as follows:

1 kgf = Mass x Acceleration = 1 kg x 9.80665 m/s² = 9.80665

Featured kg/cm2 - kilograms per square centimetre unit range pressure measurement products

• One transmitter for measuring steam temperature to 150°C and pressure to 4kg/cm² g