Symbol UMdftx

Cllplll LottitltcaN
alP. A a Allgln. ~· aa:eleratim
beta 8 IJ Angles, c:oefflctents
gemma r y She• etrain, kinematic vtaooaly
delta A I Dlferencee, dafl1)ilg c:oefficient
epsilon E l LiMier strail
ata z
8la
theta
ota
H
e
I
''
'If D~ ViiC'OIIty, efficiency
Angles, temperature
kaA)a K. '
IC COI11J)I'e88itmy (ftuids)
la.nt>da

I'AJ
"
M
",. Wavelen;th. thermal
COIKllciMty
Coefficient d tricllon, dylwnk:
vfiCOiity, Polston's tlllo
~ N Kinematic vilcoeity
ld a "f
omicron 0 0
p n ll Mathamabl canafa'lt
1ho R p Density
algna I (T Normal at...._ 8lMdard
deviation, a~m of
tau T .,. She.w ltreU
~n T ll
pt1
• tp A.nglae, heat flowrate, potantial
erwgy
chi

.•
~ X
Hetbc~~ material
pel
omega "
Q Ang* velocity, eolid angle

2.2 Units Systems

Unfortunately, the world of mechanical engineering has not yet achieved unifonnit:y in the
system of units it uses. The oldest system is that of British Imperial units - still used in
many parts of the l\>"'rld, including the USA. The CGS (or MKS) system is a metric system,
...
 2.2.1 The SI Sy~t~!!!
The strength of the Sl system is its cohere.Jl.Ct!. The1·e are tour mechanical and two electrical
base units, from which all other quantities are derived. The mechanical ones are:
Length: metre (m)

Mass: kilogram (kg)

Time: second(s)

Temperature: Kehm(IO

Remember, other units are derived from these; e.g. the Newton (N) is defined as N = kg
m/s 2 •

2.2.2 SI prefixes
As a rule, prefixes are applied to the basic SI unit, except for weight, where the prefix is
used with the unit gram (g), not the basic SI unit kilogram (kg). Prefixes are not used for
units of angular measurement (degrees, radians), time (seconds), or temperature (°C or K).
Prefixes should be chosen in such a way that the numerical value of a unit lies between
0.1 and 1000.

For exmnple 28 kN rather than 28 x 104 N

1.25 mm rathet~ntA~
9.3kPa rather than 9300 Pa

Table 2.2 SI prefixes.

AWplotfon "-*' Ptefbt Symbol
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 - 1oM yoaa y
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 - 1o'1 Z8lta z
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 ,.. 10'' ex.a E
1 000 000 000 000 000 ... 1011 peUt p
1 000 000 000 000 • 10'1 tera T
1 ooo 000 000 ... 1<f ~ga G
1 000 000 ... 10' mega M
1 000 • 10" klo k
100 - to' hedo h
10 • 101 doka da
0.1 - 10"" t ded d
0.01 •to-• certl c
0.001 • 1cr• mill m
0.000 001 - 10"". nicro ,
0.000 000 001 • 1o-• nano n
0.000 000 000 001 - 10- t:l pm p
0.000 000 000 000 001 - 10"' 15 femlo f
0.000 000 000 000 000 001 - 10"'. altO •
o.ooo 000 ooo ooo ooo ooo 001 - 1cr•• Copy~ materiat
0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 a 10-M yaclo J

2.2.3 Conversions
Units often need to be converted. The least confusing way to do this is by expressing
equality:
For example: to convert 6oo mm HaO to Pascals (Pa)
Using 1 mm H2 0 = 9.80665 Pa
Add denominators as
I mm H20
---.
600 mm
...
H20 ~=----
9.80665 Pa
xPa
Hence 6po mm H 2 0 = 5883.99 Pa
Setting out calculations in this way can help avoid confusion, particularly when they involve
large numbers and/or several sequential stages of conversion.

2 .3 Units and Conversions

2.3.1 Force
The SI unit is the Newton (N) -it is a derived unit.

Table 2.3 Force (F)

l.krl N b , ,_
t Newton (N) 1 0.2248 102.0 0.1020
1 pound (lb) 4.4-48 453.6 0.4536
1gram-torce (gf) 9.807 x 10-a ~ ht matt9,!1"
1 kilogrMl-ton:e (kQf) 9.807 1000 1

Note: Strictly, all the units in the table except the Nev.-ton (N) represent weight equivalents
of mass, and so depend on g. The true SI unit of force is the Newton (N) which is equivalent
to 1 kgm/s 2 .

2 .3 .2 Weight
The tru.e weight of a body is a measure of the gravitational attraction of the earth on it.
Since this attraction is a force, the weight of a body is correctly expressed in Ne\\1ons (N).
Mass is measured in kilogram (kg)
 Force (N:) =mass (kg) x g (m/sZ)
1 kg = 2.20462 Ibf
1000 kg = 1 tonne (metric) =0.9842 tons (imperial)
1 ton (US) =- 2000 lb = 907.185 kg

Table 2.4 Density (p)

IMt
1 kg J»r nf 1 0.001 8.243 )C 10"'1 8.813>< 10"5
1g per crrt' 1000 1 82.48 3818 x 10..a
11b perff 16.02 1.«)2 )( 10"1 1 Copyrighted8J11bil0"" 4
11b perin1 2.788 )( 1rf 27.68 1728 1

2 .3.3 Pressure
The SI unit is the Pascal {Pa).

Figure 2.1
9.81 N

1 Pa = tN/m2
1 Pa = 1.45038 x 10-4 lbf/in 2 (i.e. psi)
In practice, pressures are measured in MPa, bar, atmospheres, torr or the height of a liquid
column, depending on the application.
 9.81 N

1Pa = 1N/m2
1 Pa = 1.45038 x 10-4Ibf/in2 (i.e. psi)
In practice, pressures are measured in MPa, bar, atmospheres, torr or the height of a liquid
column, depending on the application.

Figure 2.2

Figure 2.3
 Units

G X fOOO

Table 2.5 Pressure (P)