Kilogram or Kilogram Force per Square Centimeter (kg/cm2 or kgf/cm2) is a pressure unit that has been largely superseded by the SI unit system of pascal units.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
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
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
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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
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