EPS Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

SI UNITS FOR CHEMICAL AND PETROLEUM ENGINEERS

Grashof number

Gr

The Basic SI Units

Name
metre
kilogram
second
Kelvin
ampere
candela
Note: kilo is in small k. K stands for Kelvin

Nusselt number

Nu

hd / k

Reynolds number

Re

Peclet number for heat transfer

Peclet number for mass transfer
Prandtl number

Pe
Pe
Pr

ud /
Re.Pr
Re.Sc
Cp / k

Schmidt number

Sc

Sherwood number

Sh

Stanton number for heat transfer

Stanton number for mass transfer
j factor for heat transfer
j factor for mass transfer

St
St
jh
jd

h dd / D
Nu/(RePr)
Sh/(ReSc)
StPr0.67
StSc0.67

Quantity
Length
Mass
Time
Temperature
Electrical current
Luminous intensity

Quantity
Force
Work, energy, heat
Power
Electrical charge
Electrical potential
Electrical capacitance
Electrical resistance
Frequency
Magnetic flux
Magnetic flux density
Inductance
Pressure

Factor
10-12
10-9
10-6
10-3
10-1

SI Unit Conversion Sheet

name
pico
nano
micro
milli
deci

Density
Viscosity (18C)
Specific heat capacity
Thermal conductivity
Latent heat (1 atm)
Prandtl number (20C)

Derived Units
Name
newton
joule
watt
coulomb
volt
farad
ohm
hertz
Weber
tesla
henry
pascal
Prefixes for Unit Multiples
symbol
factor
p
10
n
102

103
m
106
d
109

Symbol
m
kg
s
K
A
cd

Symbol
N = kgm/s2
J = Nm
W = J/s
C = As
V = W/A
F = As/V
V/A
Hz = s-1
Wb = Vs
T=Wb/m2
H = Vs/A
Pa = N/m2

name
deca
hecto
kilo
mega
Giga

Approximate Physical Properties

Water
3
10 kg/m3
Density at 20C, 101.325kPa
10-3 Ns/m2
Viscosity at s.t.p.
4.186 kJ/kg-K
Specific heat capacity
0.6 W/m-K
Thermal conductivity
2.2567 MJ/kg
7
Prandtl number

symbol
da
h
k
M
G

Air
1.204 kg/m3
1.78x10-5 Ns/m2
1x103 J/kg-K
0.024 W/m-K
0.7

Some Common Physical Constants

Avogadros Number
NA=6.023x1026 kmol-1
Gravitational Acceleration
g=9.807 m/s2
Ideal gas constant
R=8314 J/kmol-K (the same as 8.134 kJ/kmol-K)
= 5.6697x10-8 W/m2-K4
Stefan-Boltzman constant
Volume of 1 kmol of an ideal gas at s.t.p.
22.4 m3
Standard temperature and pressure (s.t.p)
101.3 kN/m2, 273.15 K

Euler number

Common Dimensionless Groups

En

Cp =
g=
h=
hd or kc=
k=
d or l =
P=
u=
U=
T =
D=
=

Common symbols
Specific heat capacity at constant pressure (J/kg-K)
Acceleration due to gravity (m/s2) = 9.81 m/s2
Film heat transfer coefficient (W/m2-K)
Film mass transfer coefficient (m/s)
Thermal conductivity (W/m-K)
Characteristic size (diameter or length)
Pressure (N/m2)
Velocity (m/s)
Overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2-K)
Temperature difference (T2-T1)
Diffusivity (m2/s)
Viscosity (kg/ms)

Density (kg/m3)

C
Cl
Cu
F

L3 gT 2 / 2

Atomic Weights of Common Elements and names of Common Compounds

Carbon
12
He
Helium
4
I
Iodine
127
Chlorine
35.5
N
Nitrogen
14
O
Oxygen
16
Copper
63
Na
Sodium
23
S
Sulphur
32
Fluorine
19

O2
N2
H2
NaCl

Oxygen
Nitrogen
Hydrogen
Salt

HNO3
H2SO4
NaOH

Nitric Acid
Sulphuric Acid
Caustic Soda

CH4
C2H6
CH3OH

Methane
Ethane
Methanol

Common Energy Equivalents (1bbl of liquid = x MBtu)

Crude Oil
5.8
Ethane
3.082
Natural Gas Plant Liquids
3.735
Propane
3.836
Aviation Gasoline
5.048
Isobutane
3.974
Natural Gasoline
4.62
Butane
4.326
Asphalt
6.636
Pentanes Plus
4.62
Jet Fuel, Kerosene-type
5.67
Butane-Propane (60/40) Mixture
4.13
Jet Fuel, Naphtha-type
5.355
Ethane-Propane (70/30) Mixture
3.308
Kerosene
5.67
Motor Gasoline - Oxygenated or Reformulated 5.15
Motor Gasoline - Conventional
5.253
Motor Gasoline - Fuel Ethanol
3.539

u 2
Froude number

Revised 30 January 2015

Fr

u2
gl

Prof. G.White

EPS Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

TIME

LENGTH

1
1

CONVERSION FACTORS
min
hr

SI Unit Conversion Sheet

60
3600

s
s

1
1
1
1
1
1

in
ft
yd
mile
micron
angstrom

25.4
0.3048
0.9144
1.6093
10-6
10-10

mm
m
m
km
m
m

AREA

1
1
1

in2
ft2
acre

645.16
0.092903
4046.856

mm2
m2
m2

VOLUME

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

in3
ft3
UK gal
US gal
litre
cm3
barrel
acre-ft
UK barrel
US barrel

16.387
0.02832
4546.1
3785.4
10-3
10-6
0.15899
1233.4818
34.9723
42

cm3
m3
cm3
cm3
m3
m3
m3
m3
UK gal
US gal

MASS

1
1
1
1
1
1

oz
lb
ton
short ton
tonne
grain

28.352
0.45395
1016.06
907.18
1000
0.0648

g
kg
kg
kg
kg
g

TEMPERATURE

F
C
o
R
K

(oC)
(oF
o
F
o
C

1.8
32)
460
273

+32
1.8

TEMPERATURE
DIFFERENCE

1
1

deg F )
deg R )

VELOCITY

1
1

ft/s
mile/hr

0.3048
0.44704

m/s
m/s

ACCELERATION

ft/s2

0.3048

m/s2

FORCE

1
1
1
1

pdl
lbf
kgf
dyn

0.13826
4.4482
9.8067
10-5

N
N
N
N

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

ft lbf
ft pdl
cal
erg
Btu
Chu
kWhr
therm
tonne oil equivalent
ft3 natural gas equ (wet)

1.3558
0.04214
4.1868
10-7
1.05506
1.8991
3.6
105.51
11630
1025

J
J
J
J
kJ
kJ
MJ
MJ
kWhr
Btu

1
1

Btu/lb
kcal/kg

2.326
4.1868

kJ/kg
kJ/kg

ENERGY, WORK, HEAT

SPECIFIC ENTHALPY
(LATENT HEAT etc)

Revised 30 January 2015

x
+
+

1
deg
1.8

SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY

Btu/lb- oF

4.1868

kJ/kg-K

SPECIFIC ENTROPY

cal/g-oC

4.1868

kJ/kg-K

CALORIFIC VALUE

1
1

Btu/ft
Btu/lb

37.25 9
2.326

kJ/m3
kJ/kg

VOLUMETRIC FLOW

1
1
1
1

ft3/s
ft3/h
UK gal/h
US gal/h

0.028316
7.8658
1.2628
1.0515

m3/s
cm3/s
cm3/s
cm3/s

MASS FLOW

1
1

lb/h
ton/h

0.12600
0.28224

g/s
kg/s

DENSITY

1
1
1
1
1

lb/in3
lb/ft3
lb/UK gal
lb/US gal
g/cm3

27.680
16.019
99.776
119.83
1000

g/cm3
kg/m3
kg/m3
kg/m3
kg/m3

MOLAR MASS
(MOLECULAR WEIGHT)

1
1

lb/lbmol
g/gmol

1
1

kg/kmol
kg/kmol

MOLAR VOLUME

1
1

ft3/lbmol
l/gmol

0.06243
1

m3/kmol
m/kmol

MOMENT OF INERTIA
MOMENTUM
PRESSURE

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

lb ft2
lb ft/s
lb/in2 (psi)
lb/ft2
dyn/cm2
atm (standard)
bar
kg/cm2 (1 at)
ft water
in water
in Hg
mm Hg (1 torr)

0.042140
0.13826
6.8948
47.880
0.1
101.325
100
98.0665
2.9891
249.09
3.3864
133.32

kg m2
kg m/s
kN/m2
N/m2
N/m2
kN/m2
kN/m2
kN/m2
kN/m2
N/m2
kN/m2
N/m2

POWER, HEAT FLOW

1
1
1
1
1
1
1

hp (British)
erg/s
ft lbf /s
Btu/h
Chu/h
kcal/h
ton of refrigeration

745.70
10-7
1.3558
0.29307
0.5275
1.16306
3516.9

W
W
W
W
W
W
W

DYNAMIC VISCOSITY

1
1
1

P (poise = 1 g cm-s)
lb/ft h
lb / ft s

0.1
0.41338
1.4882

N s/m2
mN s/m2
N s/m2

KINEMATIC VISCOSITY

1
1

S (stokes = 1 cm2/s)
ft2 / h

10 4
0.25806

m2 / s
cm2 / s

SURFACE ENERGY
SURFACE TENSION

dyn/cm
(= 1 erg/cm2)

10-3

J / m2

THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

1
1

Btu/hr-ft-F
Kcal/hr-m-C

1.7307
1.163

W/m-K
W/m-K

HEAT TRANSFER
COEFFICENT
MASS TRANSFER
COEFFICIENT

Btu/hr-ft2-F

5.6783

W/m2-K

ft/sec

0.3048

m/s

C (or K)

Prof. G.White