Mass flow rate and Volumetric flow rate is what we must use in flow measurement and control. So what is mass flow and what is volumetric flow? How to switch between them? In this post, we compare the concept of volume flow and mass flow and the conversion between the two.

What is Flow Rate?

Flow rate refers to the ratio of the amount of fluid flowing through the cross-section of the pipe to the time it takes for that amount to pass through the cross-section. Flow is divided into volume flow and mass flow.

What is volume flow Rate?

The volume flow rate is the flow rate expressed by the volume of the fluid quantity.
The volume flow is expressed by the formula: qv=V/t=u×A.

In the formula:

• qv is the volume flow, m3/s.
• V is the unit flow volume, m3.
• t is the unit time, s.
• u is the average flow velocity in the pipe, m/s.
• A is the cross-sectional area of ​​the pipeline, m2.

Among the commonly used flow meters, such as orifice plates, turbine flow meters, vortex flow meters, electromagnetic flowmeters, rotameters, ultrasonic flow meters, and oval gear flow meters, the flow measurement value is the volume flow of the fluid.

If you need, you can learn more about Flow Rate And Pressure Relationship.

Featured Volume Flow Meters

Volume flow unit converter

Unit	L/min	m3/h	f t 3/h	Ukgal/min	Usgal/min	US  bbl/d
L/min	1	0.06	2.1189	0.21997	0.0264188	9.057
M3/h	16.667	1	35.314	3.667	4.403	151
Ft3/h	0.4719	0.028317	1	0.1038	0.1247	4.2746
Ukgal/min	4.564	0.02727	9.6325	1	1.20032	41.1
Usgal/min	3.785	0.2273	8.0208	0.8326	1	34.28
US bbl/d	0.1104	0.00624	0.23394	0.02428	0.02917	1

What is mass flow Rate?

Mass flow rate refers to the flow rate of fluid quantity expressed by mass.
The mass flow rate can be expressed by the formula: qm=m/t=ρ×u×A.

In the formula,:

• qm is the mass flow rate, kg/s.
• m is the unit fluid mass, kg.
• ρ is the fluid density, kg/m3.
• t is the unit time, s.
• u is the average flow velocity in the pipe, m/s.
• A is the cross-sectional area of ​​the pipeline, m2.

Extended reading: Gas mass flow controller working principle

Featured Mass Flow Meters

mass flow rate units converter

1 kilogram per second (kg/s)

=3600.0000 kilograms per hour (kg/h)

=3.6000 tons per hour (t/h)

=86.4000 tons per day (t/d)

=2.8800×104 tons per year (t/a)

= 2.2046 pounds per second (lb/s)

= 7936.6414 pounds per hour (lb/h)

= 1.9048 x 105 pounds per day (lb/d)

Unit	(t/h)	(kg/h)	(kg/min)	(kg/s)	(UKton/h)	(lb/h)	(lb/min)	(lb/s)
(t/h)	1	103	16.6667	0.277778	0.984207	2204.62	36.7437	0.61239
(kg/h)	10-3	1	0.0166667	2.77778×10-4	9.84207×10-4	2.20462	0.0367437	6.12395×10-4
(kg/min)	0.06	60	1	0.0166667	0.0590524	132.277	2.20462	0.0367437
(kg/s)	3.6	3600	60	1	3.54315	7936.63	132.277	2.20462
(UKton/h)	1.01605	1016.05	16.9342	0.282236	1	2240	37.3333	0.62222
(lb/h)	4.53592×10-4	0.453592	0.00755987	1.25998×10-4	4.46429×10-4	1	0.0166667	2.77778×10-4
(lb/min)	0.0272155	27.2155	0.453592	0.00755987	0.0267857	60	1	0.016666
(lb/s)	1.63293	1632.93	27.2155	0.453592	1.60714	3600	60	1

Volumetric flow rate to Mass flow rate

The mass flow rate and volume flow rate relationship can be briefly summarized as follows:

1. If the mass flow of the flow is known and needs to be converted into volume flow, the following formula can be used: qv=qm/ρ. In the formula, qv is volume flow, m3/s. qm is mass flow, kg/s. ρ is fluid Density, kg/m3.
2. If the volume flow rate of the fluid is known, it needs to be converted into a mass flow rate, which can be done with the formula: qm=qv×ρ.

volumetric flow rate to mass flow rate calculator

Mass Flow & Density to Volume Flow Calculator	Mass Flow Rate Unit Converter	Volume Flow Rate Converter
Volume Flow & Density to Mass Flow Calculator	Volumetric Flow Rate & Pipe Diameter to Flow Speed Calculator

How to convert air volume flow to air mass flow?

The conversion factor between air volume flow rate and air volume flow rate is 1.29. That is, to convert the volume flow of air into the mass flow, multiply the coefficient by 1.29.

Solution: Let the mass of air passing in t hours be m kg, the volume be V cubic meters, and the known air density ρ = 1.29 kg/m3.

Then the volume flow rate of the air qv=V/t (cubic meters/hour), and the mass flow rate qm=m/t (kg/hour).

And because air quality = air density x air volume, m = ρV = 1.29V.

Then qm=m/t=ρV/t=ρqv=1.29qv.

That is, to convert the volume flow of air into a mass flow, multiply the coefficient by 1.29.

Converter Tool: Volumetric Flow Rate & Pipe Diameter to Flow Speed Calculator

Density, Mass Flow, and Volumetric Flow Relationship

A description of the relationship between density, mass flow rate, and volumetric flow rate. The following video provides a good explanation.

Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KNfADc77XU

More mass or volume flow measurement solutions

Sino-Inst is Manufacturer of Mass Flow Meters and Volumetric Flow Meters. We supply more than 50 kinds of Flow Meters. 40% mass flowmeters, and other types of Volumetric flowmeters.

Since the mass flowmeter has the ability to directly measure the mass flow of fluid beads, the measurement accuracy is high. It has a wide range of applications, low installation requirements, reliable operation of the instrument, and low maintenance rate. Mass flow meters have been widely used in flow measurement in petroleum, chemical, metallurgy, thermal, electric power, food and other fields.

Volumetric flowmeters are low cost and cover more measurement applications. It is also widely used in various industrial production control processes.

Sino-Inst’s Mass Flow Meters and Volumetric Flow Meters, made in China, Having good Quality, With better price. Our flow measurement instruments are widely used in China, India, Pakistan, the US, and other countries.

The entire team at Sino-Inst’s has received excellent training, so we can ensure that every client’s needs are met. For assistance with your product requirements, whether it’s a flow sensor, level sensor, or other device, give us a call.