SCFM versus ACFM and ICFM

Actual air compressor capacity (ACFM) versus standard air capacity (SCFM) and inlet air capacity (ICFM)
SCFM - Standard Cubic Feet per Minute
It is common to rate the 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 "sea-level" properties:

y y y

14.696 Pounds per Square Inch (psia) 60 Degrees Fahrenheit (oF) (520oR) 0% Relative Humidity (RH)

Europeans normally use one ata and 0 oC as SCFM.

ACFM - Actual Cubic Feet per Minute

Unfortunately, real life "actual conditions" are seldom "standard conditions". When

y y

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

Actual air volume flow is often termed ACFM - Actual Cubic Feet per Minute. Actual Cubic Feet per Minute - ACFM, depends on the

y y y

pressure temperature humidity

of the actual air. The conversion from SCFM to ACFM can be expressed as ACFM = SCFM [Pstd / (Pact - Psat where ACFM = Actual Cubic Feet per Minute SCFM = Standard Cubic Feet per Minute Pstd = Standard absolute air pressure (psia) Pact = absolute pressure at the actual level (psia) Psat = Saturation pressure at the actual temperature (psi) = Actual relative humidity Tact = Actual ambient air temperature (oR) Tstd = Standard temperature (oR) )](Tact / Tstd) (1)

Example - SCFM to ACFM

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

y y y y y

elevation 5000 feet (1500 m) - atmospheric pressure Pact = 12.23 psia temperature 80oF - absolute temperature Tact = 540oR saturation pressure Psat = 0.5069 psia relative humidity = 80% demand 100 SCFM

can be calculated as ACFM = (100 SCFM) [(14.7 psia) / ((12.23 psia) - (0.5069 psia) (80 / 100))]((540 oR) / (520 oR)) = 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 ICFM to ACFM can be expressed as

ACFM = ICFM (Pact / Pf) (Tf / Tact) where ICFM = Inlet Cubic Feet per Minute

(2)

Pf = Pressure after filter or inlet equipment (psia) Tf = Temperature after filter or inlet equipment (oR)