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Air - SCFM versus ACFM and ICFM

Actual air compressor capacity (ACFM) vs. standard air capacity (SCFM) and inlet air capacity (ICFM).

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SCFM - Standard Cubic Feet per Minute

It is common to rate compressed air consumption in Standard Cubic Feet per Minute - SCFM.

The SCFM - Standard Cubic Feet per Minute - determines the weight of air to fixed or "Standard" conditions. There are several definitions of SCFM. The most common used in the United States is with the "sea-level" properties:

  • 14.696 Pounds per Square Inch (psia)
  • 60 Degrees Fahrenheit ( o F) (520 o R)
  • 0% Relative Humidity (RH)

Europeans normally use one ata and 0 oC as SCFM.

Note that the The Compressed Air & Gas Institute and PNEUROP have adopted the definition used in ISO standards with dry (0% relative humidity) air at 14.5 psia (1 bar) and 68 o F (20 oC).

compressor vacuum systems scfm acfm icfm

ACFM - Actual Cubic Feet per Minute

Real life "actual conditions" are seldom "standard conditions". When

  • pressure is applied a volume of air - it gets smaller
  • vacuum is applied to a volume of air - it expands

The actual air volume flow is often termed ACFM - Actual Cubic Feet per Minute .

The Actual Cubic Feet per Minute - ACFM - depends on the

  • pressure
  • temperature
  • humidity

of the actual air.

The conversion from SCFM to ACFM can be expressed

ACFM = SCFM [P std / (P act - P sat Φ)](T act / T std )                                      (1)

where

ACFM = Actual Cubic Feet per Minute

SCFM = Standard Cubic Feet per Minute

P std = standard absolute air pressure (psia)

P act = absolute pressure at the actual level (psia)

P sat = saturation pressure at the actual temperature (psi)

Φ = Actual relative humidity

T act = Actual ambient air temperature ( o R)

T std = Standard temperature ( o R)

Note!

P sat Φ ƒ < P act

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Online SCFM - ACFM Calculator

The calculator below can used to calculate ACFM:

Example - SCFM to ACFM

The actual CFM of a compressor operating at "non-standard" conditions like

  • elevation 5000 feet (1500 m) - atmospheric pressure P act = 12.23 psia
  • temperature 80 o F - absolute temperature T act = 540 o R
  • saturation pressure P sat = 0.5069 psia
  • relative humidity Φ = 80%
  • demand: 100 SCFM

can be calculated as

ACFM = (100 SCFM) [(14.7 psia) / ((12.23 psia) - (0.5069 psia) (80 / 100))]((540 o R ) / (520 o R))

= 129.1

ICFM - Inlet Cubic Feet per Minute

Inlet Cubic Feet per Minute - ICFM - is used by compressor vendors to establish conditions in front of additional equipment like inlet filter, blower or booster.

When air passes through the filter there will be a pressure drop. The conversion from ACFM to ICFM can be expressed as

ICFM = ACFM (P act / P f ) (T f / T act )                                               (2)

where

ICFM = Inlet Cubic Feet per Minute

P f = Pressure after filter or inlet equipment (psia)

T f = Temperature after filter or inlet equipment ( o R)

Note!

The Ideal Gas Law is accurate only at relatively low pressures and high temperatures. To account for the deviation from the ideal situation, another factor is included. It is called the Gas Compressibility Factor, or Z-factor . This correction factor depends on the pressure and temperature for each gas considered.

The True Gas Law, or the Non-Ideal Gas Law, becomes:

P V = Z n R T  (3)

where

Z = Gas Compressibility Factor

n = number of moles of gas present

Air Volume Conversion Factors

Air volume conversion factors related to air with temperature 70°F (21.1°C) :

Air volume conversion factors related to air with temperature 70°F (21.1°C)
Air TemperatureFactor
°F°C
0 -17.2 1.152
10 -12.2 1.128
20 -6.7 1.104
30 -1.1 1.082
40 4.4 1.060
50 10.0 1.039
60 15.6 1.019
70 21.1 1.000
80 26.7 0.981
90 32.2 0.964
100 37.8 0.946
110 43.3 0.930
120 48.9 0.914
130 54.4 0.898
140 60.0 0.883
150 65.6 0.869
160 71.1 0.855
170 76.7 0.841
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