Enter the ambient and system pressure difference and the effective area under the suction cup into the calculator to determine the vacuum force.

Vacuum Force Formula

The following equation is used to calculate the Vacuum Force.

VF = (AP-SP) * A

  • Where VF is the vacuum force (lbf)
  • SP is the system pressure (psi)
  • AP is the ambient pressure (psi)
  • A is the effective vacuum area (in^2)

What is a Vacuum Force?

Definition

:A vacuum force is a force that acts on an object that is in a vacuum. In physics, a vacuum force can also be called a Casimir effect. The Casimir effect is the name for forces that arise from a quantized field. The vacuum force can be both attractive and repulsive. The Casimir effect has been used in the creation of tiny machines such as nanotubes or nanowires.

A vacuum force is dictated by the vacuum area and the pressure differential between the system and ambient pressures.

How to Calculate Vacuum Force?

Example Problem:

The following example outlines the steps and information needed to calculate the Vacuum Force.

First, determine the system pressure. For this example, the pressure of the system is 2 psi.

Next, determine the ambient pressure. The ambient pressure around the vacuum is 100 psi.

Next, determine the effective suction area. In this case, the effective area is 10 square inches.

Finally, calculate the vacuum force using the formula above:

VF = (AP-SP) * A

VF = (100-2) * 10

VF = 980 lb-f