Pressure
Convert bar (bar) to kilopascal (kPa). Pressure is force per unit area. Process engineers move constantly between SI (kPa, bar) and US (psi) units, and between absolute and gauge.
1 bar = 100 kPa
To convert bar to kilopascal, multiply the bar value by 100. To go the other way, divide by 100 (or multiply by 0.01).
| bar | kPa |
|---|---|
| 1 | 100 |
| 2 | 200 |
| 5 | 500 |
| 10 | 1000 |
| 25 | 2500 |
| 50 | 5000 |
| 100 | 10000 |
| 250 | 25000 |
| 500 | 50000 |
| 1000 | 100000 |
Line and vessel ratings, pump discharge heads, and relief set points are all specified in pressure units — usually psi or barg in the field and kPa in calculations.
Always track whether a value is absolute or gauge: 0 barg equals about 101.3 kPa absolute, and mixing the two is a common and costly error.
Worked example. A pressure of 10 bar is 1000 kPa.
Multiply the value in bar by 100 to get kPa. For example, 10 bar = 1000 kPa.
1 bar equals 100 kPa.
Line and vessel ratings, pump discharge heads, and relief set points are all specified in pressure units — usually psi or barg in the field and kPa in calculations.