Flow Rate Converter (Volume)
Convert m³/s, L/min, gal/h (US & Imperial), ft³/min, etc., for volumetric flow rates.
Result
0
Base Unit
Relative Value
*Diagram shows values relative to the selected base unit (Cubic meter/second).
Unit Information
What is Cubic Meters per Second (m³/s)?
Cubic meters per second (m³/s) is the SI derived unit for volumetric flow rate. It represents the volume of one cubic meter of fluid passing through a cross-section in one second. This unit is fundamental in scientific and large-scale engineering applications, such as measuring river discharge or industrial fluid transport.
What is Cubic Meters per Minute (m³/min)?
This unit measures flow rate in cubic meters over a one-minute period. It is often used in industrial settings where per-second values are too large or per-hour values are too small.
What is Cubic Meters per Hour (m³/h)?
Commonly used for specifying pump capacities, water treatment plant flows, and ventilation systems. It provides a measure of volume over a longer, more practical timescale for many industrial processes.
What is Cubic Feet per Second (ft³/s)?
Also known as cusec, this is a common unit in the US for measuring water flow in rivers, canals, and large pipes.
What is Cubic Feet per Minute (ft³/min or CFM)?
CFM is a very common imperial and US customary unit used to measure the flow rate of air, especially in HVAC systems, air compressors, and for ventilation specifications.
What is Cubic Feet per Hour (ft³/h)?
This unit is used for lower flow rates over longer periods, such as measuring natural gas consumption in some residential or commercial settings.
What are Liters per Second (L/s)?
A metric unit often used in scientific experiments, for smaller pump specifications, and in medical applications like IV drips.
What are Liters per Minute (L/min or LPM)?
Liters per minute is a very common metric unit for volumetric flow rate, often used for smaller-scale applications like domestic water pumps, showerheads, medical devices (e.g., oxygen flow), and laboratory equipment. One liter per minute is equivalent to 0.001 cubic meters per minute.
What are Liters per Hour (L/h)?
This unit is used for low-flow applications where measuring per minute or second would result in very small numbers, such as in dosing pumps for chemical treatment or in aquarium filtration systems.
What are Milliliters per Second (mL/s)?
Used for very low flow rates in precision applications like laboratory chemistry, microfluidics, and medical infusion pumps.
What are Milliliters per Minute (mL/min)?
A very common unit in medical and laboratory settings for administering medications, chromatography, and other precision fluid handling tasks.
What are US Gallons per Second (US gal/s)?
This is a high flow rate unit, less common than GPM, but could be used for large industrial pumps or fire fighting equipment.
What are US Gallons per Minute (US gal/min or GPM)?
GPM is the standard unit for specifying pump and nozzle flow rates in the United States, used for everything from well pumps and pool filters to fire hoses.
What are US Gallons per Hour (US gal/h or GPH)?
GPH is used for lower, continuous flow rates, such as in aquarium pumps, small fountains, or fuel consumption rates for some engines.
What are Imperial Gallons per Second (Imp gal/s)?
A high flow rate unit based on the Imperial gallon, used in countries that follow the British Imperial system.
What are Imperial Gallons per Minute (Imp gal/min)?
The Imperial equivalent of US GPM, used for specifying pump and pipe flow rates in the UK and some Commonwealth countries.
What are Imperial Gallons per Hour (Imp gal/h)?
The Imperial equivalent of US GPH, used for measuring lower continuous flow rates.
Formulas
1 m³/s = 60,000 L/min
One cubic meter per second is equal to 60,000 liters per minute.
1 US GPM ≈ 0.06309 L/s
One US Gallon Per Minute is approximately 0.06309 liters per second.
1 ft³/min (CFM) ≈ 0.4719 L/s
One Cubic Foot per Minute is approximately 0.4719 liters per second.
Q = A × v
The Continuity Equation: Flow Rate (Q) equals the cross-sectional Area (A) of the pipe multiplied by the average fluid velocity (v).
1 Imp gal/min ≈ 1.201 US gal/min
An Imperial Gallon per Minute represents a higher flow rate than a US Gallon per Minute because the Imperial gallon is larger.
Key Reference Points
- A typical garden hose: ~10-20 Liters per minute (L/min) or ~2.5-5 US Gallons Per Minute (GPM).
- Standard showerhead (water-saving): ~5-9 Liters per minute (L/min) or ~1.3-2.4 US GPM.
- Small creek flow: Could be around 0.1-1 cubic meters per second (m³/s).
- Residential HVAC unit airflow: Often 400-2000 Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM).
- Average human cardiac output at rest: ~5 Liters per minute.
- The Amazon River average discharge: ~209,000 m³/s.
- A large fire hose: Can be over 1000 GPM (or ~63 L/s).
- A typical city's water treatment plant: May process thousands of m³/h.
- Niagara Falls (regulated daytime flow): ~2,832 m³/s.
- The Gulf Stream ocean current: Transport of about 30 Sverdrups (30 million m³/s).
Did You Know?
The Amazon River has the largest average discharge of any river in the world, at approximately 209,000 cubic meters per second (m³/s). This is more than the next seven largest independent rivers combined! Such massive flow rates illustrate the scale at which m³/s is used.
In fluid dynamics, the principle of continuity states that for an incompressible fluid flowing through a pipe, the product of the cross-sectional area and the fluid velocity must remain constant. This means if the pipe narrows, the velocity increases to maintain the same flow rate.
CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) is a critical measure in HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems to determine the amount of air a system can move, affecting heating, cooling, and ventilation effectiveness.
Fluid flow can be either smooth (laminar) or chaotic (turbulent). The transition is governed by the Reynolds number, which depends on velocity, pipe size, and viscosity. Most flows in nature and engineering are turbulent.
The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section (or choke) of a pipe. This principle is used in carburetors and flow meters.
The human circulatory system is an incredible network. The total blood flow rate from the heart (cardiac output) is about 5 liters per minute at rest, but it can increase dramatically during exercise.
The flow rate of water over Niagara Falls is immense. During peak tourist season, the flow is regulated to be no less than 2,832 cubic meters per second (100,000 cubic feet per second).
A 'miner's inch' is an archaic unit for measuring water flow, used during the 19th-century California Gold Rush. Its value varied by location and was defined by the amount of water that would flow through a small orifice of a given size.
The power of a pump can be calculated using its flow rate and the pressure it generates. Hydraulic horsepower is a measure of this power, often calculated using GPM and PSI.
Bernoulli's principle states that for an inviscid flow, an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy. It's a statement of the conservation of energy for flowing fluids.
In oceanography, a 'sverdrup' (Sv) is a unit of transport volume equal to 1 million cubic meters per second. It's used to measure the immense flow of ocean currents like the Gulf Stream.
In building science, the air exchange rate, often measured in 'air changes per hour' (ACH), is a measure of how many times the air within a defined space is replaced. It's calculated from the flow rate (CFM) and the volume of the room.
Industrial water jet cutters use extremely high-pressure pumps to create a low-flow-rate jet of water traveling at very high velocity. This jet is capable of cutting through steel and other hard materials.
Modern automotive fuel injectors deliver precisely metered pulses of fuel into an engine's cylinders. Their flow rates are often measured in cubic centimeters (cc) or pounds per minute, and are critical for engine performance and efficiency.
The Great Man-Made River in Libya is the world's largest irrigation project. It's a network of pipes that supplies fresh water from an underground aquifer to the coast, with a massive total flow rate designed to be over 6 million cubic meters per day.
To conserve water, many countries regulate the maximum flow rate of shower heads. In the United States, for example, the standard is typically 2.5 gallons per minute (GPM), with high-efficiency models using even less.
Torricelli's law describes the speed of fluid flowing out of an orifice, stating that it is proportional to the square root of the vertical distance between the orifice and the surface of the fluid. This helps determine flow rate from a tank under gravity.
In large-scale water management and irrigation, flow rates are sometimes expressed in acre-feet per day. One acre-foot per day is a very large flow rate, equivalent to almost 1,233.5 cubic meters per day.