Mass Flow Rate

The mass flow rate (m) of a system is a measure of the mass of fluid bypass a point in the system per unit time. The mass flow rate is associated to the volumetric flow rate as shown in equation below where ρ is the density of the fluid.

m= ρ V

When the volumetric flow rate is in cubic feet per second and the density is in pounds-mass per cubic foot, the above equation outcome in mass flow rate measured in pounds-mass per second. The other general units for measurement of mass flow rate involve kilograms per second and pounds-mass per hour.

Substituting V in the above equation with the suitable terms from the above equation permits the direct computation of the mass flow rate.

m = ρ Av