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Based on US Standard Atmosphere 1976
Version 2.1.4, released August 2005

The Atmospheric Properties Calculator computes conditions of the atmosphere, airspeed conversions, and aerodynamic quantities on a reference body. The calculator is based on methods documented in the official U.S. Standard Atmosphere 1976 ( See Below). This version includes the lower atmosphere below an altitude of 53.4 miles (86 km). The upper atmosphere extending to 621 miles (1,000 km) will be included as a future enhancement. A temperature increment can also be added or subtracted to model a non-standard atmosphere on a hot or cold day, and the user interface allows conversions between common units in the English and Metric systems.

The Atmospheric Properties Calculator is compatible with Javascript 1.5 available in Internet Explorer 5.5+ and Netscape 6+. The calculator currently must be allowed to open a pop-up window to work properly. Visitors using a pop-up blocking program, including the Google Toolbar or the Firefox and Safari browsers, need to allow pop-ups for the calculator to function!

 

Inputs
Unit System		Metric (International) English (US) Standard Sea Level Ratios
Altitude		kilometers [km] meters [m] feet [ft] miles [mi] nautical miles [nm]
Temperature Increment		Réaumure [R] Kelvin [K] Celsius [°C] Fahrenheit [°F] Rankine [°R]
Velocity		kilometers/hour [km/h] meters/second [m/s] feet/second [ft/s] miles per hour [mph] knots true airspeed [KTAS] knots calibrated airspeed [KCAS] knots equivalent airspeed [KEAS] Mach number [-]
Reference Length		kilometers [km] meters [m] centimeters [cm] inches [in] feet [ft] miles [mi] nautical miles [nm]
Results This section requires altitude only
Atmospheric Layer
Geometric Altitude		kilometers [km] meters [m] feet [ft] miles [mi] nautical miles [nm]
Geopotential Altitude		kilometers [km] meters [m] feet [ft] miles [mi] nautical miles [nm]
Acceleration of Gravity		kilometers/hour/second [km/h/s] meters/square-second [m/s²] feet/square-second [ft/s²] miles per hour/second [mph/s] knots/second [kts/s] gravity ratio, g/g0 [-]
Mean Molecular Weight		kilograms/kilomole [kg/kmol] pounds/pound mole [lb/lbmol] molecular weight ratio, M/M0 [-]
Kinetic Temperature		Réaumure [R] Kelvin [K] Celsius [°C] Fahrenheit [°F] Rankine [°R] temperature ratio, theta [-]
Molecular Temperature		Réaumure [R] Kelvin [K] Celsius [°C] Fahrenheit [°F] Rankine [°R] molecular temperature ratio, TM/TM0 [-]
Pressure		millibars [mbar] kilopascals [kPa] pascals [Pa] newtons/square-meter [N/m²] pounds/square-foot [lb/ft²] pounds/square-inch [lb/in²] atmospheres [atm] torr [torr] feet of water [ft of H2O] inches of mercury [in of Hg] pressure ratio, delta [-]
Density		grams/cubic-centimeter [g/cm³] kilograms/cubic-meter [kg/m³] slugs/cubic-foot [slug/ft³] pounds-mass/cubic-foot [lb/ft³] pounds-mass/cubic-inch [lb/in³] density ratio, sigma [-]
Speed of Sound		kilometers/hour [km/h] meters/second [m/s] feet/second [ft/s] miles per hour [mph] knots [kts] speed of sound ratio, a/a0 [-]
Dynamic Viscosity		poise [P] poiseuille [Pi] pascals second [Pa·s] kilograms/meter second [kg/(m·s)] newtons second/square-meter [(N·s)/m²] pounds-force second/square-foot [(lbf·s)/ft²] slugs/foot second [slug/(ft·s)] pounds-mass/foot second [lb/(ft·s)] pounds-mass/foot hour [lb/(ft·hr)] reyn [(lbf·s)/in²] viscosity ratio, mu/mu0 [-]
Kinematic Viscosity		lentor [St] stokes [St] centistokes [cSt] poise cubic-centimeter/gram [(P·cm³)/g] square-meters/second [m²/s] square-feet/second [ft²/s] kinematic viscosity ratio, eta/eta0 [-]
Coefficient of Thermal Conductivity		kilocalories/(meter hour °Celsius) [kcal/(m·hr·°C)] calories/(centimeter second °Celsius) [cal/(cm·s·°C)] ergs/(centimeter second °Celsius) [erg/(cm·s·°C)] joules/(meter second Kelvin) [J/(m·s·K)] watts/(meter °Celsius) [W/(m·°C)] watts/(meter Kelvin) [W/(m·K)] BTU/(foot second °Rankine) [BTU/(ft·s·°R)] BTU/(foot hour °Fahrenheit) [BTU/(ft·hr·°F)] BTU/(sq-foot second °Fahrenheit)/inch [BTU/(ft²·s·°F)/in] BTU/(sq-foot hour °Fahrenheit)/inch [BTU/(ft²·hr·°F)/in] thermal conductivity ratio, kappa/kappa0 [-]
Pressure Scale Height		kilometers [km] meters [m] feet [ft] miles [mi] nautical miles [nm]
Density Scale Height		kilometers [km] meters [m] feet [ft] miles [mi] nautical miles [nm]
Total Number Density		/cubic-meter [/m³] /cubic-centimeter [/cm³] /cubic-inch [/in³] /cubic-foot [/ft³] number density ratio, N/N0 [-]
Mole Volume		cubic-meters/kilomole [m³/kmol] cubic-feet/pound mole [ft³/lbmol] mole volume ratio, vm/vm0 [-]
Mean Air Particle Speed		kilometers/hour [km/h] meters/second [m/s] feet/second [ft/s] miles per hour [mph] knots [kts] particle speed ratio, V/V0 [-]
Mean Collision Frequency		/hour [/h] /minute [/min] /second [/s] collision frequency ratio, nu/nu0 [-]
Mean Free Path		kilometers [km] meters [m] centimeters [cm] inches [in] feet [ft] miles [mi] nautical miles [nm] mean free path ratio, L/L0 [-]
This section requires altitude and velocity
True Airspeed		kilometers/hour [km/h] meters/second [m/s] feet/second [ft/s] miles per hour [mph] knots true airspeed [KTAS]
Calibrated Airspeed		kilometers/hour [km/h] meters/second [m/s] feet/second [ft/s] miles per hour [mph] knots calibrated airspeed [KCAS]
Equivalent Airspeed		kilometers/hour [km/h] meters/second [m/s] feet/second [ft/s] miles per hour [mph] knots equivalent airspeed [KEAS]
Airspeed Compressibility Correction		kilometers/hour [km/h] meters/second [m/s] feet/second [ft/s] miles per hour [mph] knots [kts]
Mach Number
Equivalent Mach Number
True Dynamic Pressure		millibars [mbar] kilopascals [kPa] pascals [Pa] newtons/square-meter [N/m²] pounds/square-foot [lb/ft²] pounds/square-inch [lb/in²] atmospheres [atm] torr [torr] feet of water [ft of H2O] inches of mercury [in of Hg]
Compressible Dynamic Pressure		millibars [mbar] kilopascals [kPa] pascals [Pa] newtons/square-meter [N/m²] pounds/square-foot [lb/ft²] pounds/square-inch [lb/in²] atmospheres [atm] torr [torr] feet of water [ft of H2O] inches of mercury [in of Hg]
Total Head		millibars [mbar] kilopascals [kPa] pascals [Pa] newtons/square-meter [N/m²] pounds/square-foot [lb/ft²] pounds/square-inch [lb/in²] atmospheres [atm] torr [torr] feet of water [ft of H2O] inches of mercury [in of Hg]
Critical Cp
Vacuum Cp
Laminar Recovery Temperature		Réaumure [R] Kelvin [K] Celsius [°C] Fahrenheit [°F] Rankine [°R]
Turbulent Recovery Temperature		Réaumure [R] Kelvin [K] Celsius [°C] Fahrenheit [°F] Rankine [°R]
Total Temperature		Réaumure [R] Kelvin [K] Celsius [°C] Fahrenheit [°F] Rankine [°R]
Reynolds Number / Unit Length		/kilometer [/km] /meter [/m] /centimeter [/cm] /inch [/in] /foot [/ft] /mile [/mi] /nautical mile [/nm]
This section requires altitude, velocity, and reference length
Reynolds Number
Laminar Boundary Layer Thickness		kilometers [km] meters [m] centimeters [cm] inches [in] feet [ft] miles [mi] nautical miles [nm]
Laminar Displacement Thickness		kilometers [km] meters [m] centimeters [cm] inches [in] feet [ft] miles [mi] nautical miles [nm]
Laminar Cf
Turbulent Boundary Layer Thickness		kilometers [km] meters [m] centimeters [cm] inches [in] feet [ft] miles [mi] nautical miles [nm]
Turbulent Displacement Thickness		kilometers [km] meters [m] centimeters [cm] inches [in] feet [ft] miles [mi] nautical miles [nm]
Turbulent Cf

 

U.S. Standard Atmosphere 1976

 

United States Committee on Extension to the Standard Atmosphere (COESA)

 

 

Parameter: Atmospheric density, temperature, and pressure

Brief Description:
The work of the U.S. Committee on Extension to the Standard Atmosphere (COESA), established in 1953, led to the 1958, 1962, 1966, and 1976 versions of the U.S. Standard Atmosphere. These models were published in book form jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the U.S. Air Force. Altogether 30 U.S. organizations representing government, industry, research institutions, and universities participated in the COESA effort. Based on rocket and satellite data and perfect gas theory, the atmospheric densities and temperatures are represented from sea level to 1000 km. Below 32 km the U.S. Standard Atmosphere is identical with the Standard Atmosphere of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The U.S. Standard Atmospheres 1958, 1962, and 1976 consist of single profiles representing the idealized, steady-state atmosphere for moderate solar activity. Parameters listed include temperature, pressure, density, acceleration caused by gravity, pressure scale height, number density, mean particle speed, mean collision frequency, mean free path, mean molecular weight, sound speed, dynamic viscosity, kinematics viscosity, thermal conductivity, and geo-potential altitude. The altitude resolution varies from 0.05 km at low altitudes to 5 km at high altitudes. All tables are given in English (foot) as well as metric (meter) units. The U.S. Standard Atmosphere Supplements, 1966 includes tables of temperature, pressure, density, sound speed, viscosity, and thermal conductivity for five northern latitudes (15, 30, 45, 60, 75), for summer and winter conditions.

Availability: In hard copy from the National Technical Information Office, Springfield, Virginia (Product Number: ADA-035-6000).

 

References:

U.S. Extension to the ICAO Standard Atmosphere, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1958.

U.S. Standard Atmosphere, 1962, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1962.

U.S. Standard Atmosphere Supplements, 1966, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1966.

U.S. Standard Atmosphere, 1976, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1976.

 

 

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