CalcLibrary

Hydrostatic Pressure Calculator

Calculate the pressure added by a stationary liquid column at depth. Compare gauge and absolute pressure with explicit unit handling.

Governing formula
Advanced assumptions
Examples

A 6 m water column adds about 58.84 kPa of gauge pressure.

Gauge pressure at depth
58.8399 kPa
Absolute pressure at depth
Add atmospheric pressure to show absolute pressure.

A 6 m column of liquid at 1,000 kg/m³ adds about 58.8399 kPa of gauge pressure. Absolute pressure is not shown because atmospheric pressure is not included.

Static-column estimate only. Results depend on your actual liquid density, gravity assumption, and whether pressure is treated as gauge or absolute. This is not a flow, pump, compressibility, vapor-pressure, structural, or code-compliance check.

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Examples

How It Works

Formula

Pg=ρghP_g = \rho g h

Pabs=Patm+PgP_{abs} = P_{atm} + P_g

Variables

PgP_g

Gauge pressure added by the liquid column(Pa)

PabsP_{abs}

Absolute pressure at depth(Pa)

PatmP_{atm}

Atmospheric pressure reference(Pa)

ρ\rho

Liquid density(kg/m³)

gg

Gravity assumption(m/s²)

hh

Liquid depth below the free surface(m)

Enter liquid depth and liquid density, then choose the pressure unit you care about. The calculator multiplies density, gravity, and depth to produce gauge pressure, and it adds atmospheric pressure only when you explicitly choose an absolute-pressure reference.

The calculator normalizes every input path to SI first: depth to metres, density to kilograms per cubic metre, gravity to metres per second squared, and atmospheric pressure to pascals. It then computes Pg=ρghP_g = \rho g h. If you enable an atmospheric-pressure reference, it also computes Pabs=Patm+PgP_{abs} = P_{atm} + P_g. The result is converted back to your selected output unit for the final display.

Frequently Asked Questions

01What is the difference between gauge pressure and absolute pressure?
Gauge pressure is the pressure added by the liquid column alone. Absolute pressure adds a reference atmospheric pressure on top of that gauge pressure.
02What density should I enter?
Enter the actual density of the liquid in your setup. Water, saltwater, oils, and process fluids can differ enough to move the result materially.
03Why can the same depth produce different answers?
Hydrostatic pressure depends on depth, liquid density, gravity, and whether you are reading gauge or absolute pressure. Change any of those and the answer changes.
04Does this cover flowing liquids or pump losses?
No. This calculator is only for static liquid columns. It does not model flow, friction loss, Bernoulli effects, pump sizing, vapor pressure, or structural checks.

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