Calculate hydraulic motor torque from pressure differential and displacement, or solve for pressure or displacement with optional efficiency and common SI and US units.

Required: pressure differential and motor displacement.

Torque From Pressure Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the Torque From Pressure.

T = P × A × r
  • Where T is the Torque From Pressure (lb-ft)
  • P is the pressure (psi) 
  • A is the area (in^2) 
  • r is the radius (ft) 

To calculate torque from pressure, multiply the pressure by the area, then multiply by the radius.

Pressure to Torque Conversion Table (T = 144 × P × A × r), r = 1.00 ft
Pressure (psi) Area (ft²) Radius (ft) Torque (lb·ft)
250.02181.0078.540
500.02181.00157.080
1000.02181.00314.159
1500.02181.00471.239
250.04911.00176.715
500.04911.00353.429
1000.04911.00706.858
1500.04911.001060.288
250.08731.00314.159
500.08731.00628.319
1000.08731.001256.637
1500.08731.001884.956
250.19631.00706.858
500.19631.001413.717
1000.19631.002827.433
1500.19631.004241.150
250.34911.001256.637
500.34911.002513.274
1000.34911.005026.548
1500.34911.007539.822
* Rounded to 3 decimals. Formula: T(lb·ft) = 144 × P(psi) × A(ft²) × r(ft). Areas shown correspond to common circular piston sizes (≈2″, 3″, 4″, 6″, 8″ diameters). Values above use r = 1.00 ft.

How to Calculate Torque From Pressure?

The following example problems outline how to calculate the Torque From Pressure.

Example Problem #1

  1. First, determine the pressure (psi). In this example, the pressure (psi) is given as 100.
  2. Next, determine the area (in^2). For this problem, the area (in^2) is given as  40.
  3. Next, determine the radius (ft). In this case, the radius (ft) is found to be 10.
  4. Finally, calculate the Torque From Pressure using the formula above: 

T = P*A*r

Inserting the values from above and solving yields: 

T = 100*40*10 = 40,000 (lb-ft)


Example Problem #2

Using the same method as above, determine the variables required by the equation. For this example problem, these are provided as:

pressure (psi) = 30

area (in^2) = 15

radius (ft) = 20

Entering these given values yields: 

T = P*A*r = 9000 (lb-ft)