How to Convert PSI to Pressure Altitude

Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a unit you use to measure the force applied to a surface and, less commonly, pressure. No matter which unit you use to measure pressure, some more typical ones include atmospheres (atm) and Pascals (Pa), one physical law that always holds true is that pressure decreases as altitude increases, a relationship which is fixed. Using the equation P = 0.9877^a, where "P" is the atmospheric pressure and "a" represents the altitude at said pressure expressed in terms of hundreds of meters, easily extrapolate altitude from a given pressure reading.

Things You'll Need

  • Scientific calculator
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Convert pressure in psi to atm, the international standard unit of pressure, keeping in mind that the atmosphere exerts a constant pressure of 14.696 psi at sea level -- in other words, one atm is equal to 14.696 psi. If the psi reading, for example, is 10.05, figure this as follows: 10.05 divided by 14.696 = .684 atm.

    • 2

      Extrapolate altitude, keeping in mind the equation P = 0.9877^a. To counteract the exponent "^," take the logarithm of the pressure. Enter pressure on a scientific calculator, then hit the "log" key. For the example of pressure, this value is -0.165. To counteract the fact that .9877 is slightly less than one, divide the logarithm by -0.012, for the example pressure, this is -0.165 divided by -0.012, or 13.75 hundred meters.

    • 3

      Convert altitude to the units of choice. The example pressure occurred at a height of 13.75 hundred meters --13.75 times 100 meters, or 1,375 meters. Multiply the initial value by 100 to obtain the result in meters. To convert the resultant value to feet, multiply by 3.28 -- 1,375 times 3.28 = 4,511 feet.

Learnify Hub © www.0685.com All Rights Reserved