Hydraulic Cylinder Force Calculator

Log Splitter Calculators

Determine The Amount of Force Your Hydraulic Cylinder Will Produce

The amount of force a hydraulic cylinder will be able to generate is equal to the hydraulic pressure times the “effective area” of the cylinder.

The force produced by a double acting hydraulic piston on the rod side (1) can be expressed as

F1 = (π (d22 - d12) / 4) P1 (1)

where as

F1 = rod force (lb, N)
d1 = rod diameter (in, m)
d2 = piston diameter (in, m)
P1 = pressure in the cylinder on the rod side (lff/in2 (psi), N/m2 (Pa))

The force produced on opposite side of the rod (2) can be expressed as

F2 = (π d22 / 4) P2 (2)

where as

F2 = rod force (lb, N)
P2 = pressure in the cylinder (opposite rod) (lff/in2 (psi), N/m2 (Pa))

Calculate Hydraulic Cylinder Force

Push / Pull Hydraulic Cylinder Force Calculator
Enter Inches, Decimals - Not Fractions. Click Calculate For Results

Enter Your Log Splitter Data
Cylinder Bore Diameter ID	Cylinder Rod Diameter OD
Hydraulic Pressure Square Inch (PSI)

Cylinder PUSH (lbs) Pressure	Cylinder PULL (lbs) Pressure

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divide result above by 2000 for tonnage force

How to Calculate Hydraulic Cylinder Tonnage

A hydraulic cylinder can exert enormous forces because of the way fluids act under pressure. With a little simple geometry you can calculate a cylinder’s force in pounds or tons. The pound force is the product of the fluid pressure in psi multiplied by the cross-sectional area of the piston. To get the hydraulic cylinder tonnage, divide the pound force by 2,000.

Obtaining Your Calculation Figures

Measure the diameter of the piston or the inside diameter of the hydraulic cylinder. Calculate the cross-sectional area of the piston by squaring the diameter, multiplying the result by pi (3.14), then divide this result by 4.

Example: for a piston with a 5-inch diameter, square 5 - 5x5 = 25, multiply the result by 3.14 = 78.5, then divide by 4 to get 19.625 square inches.

Calculate Hydraulic Cylinder Tonnage (Force)

Calculate the cylinder tonnage by multiplying the cross sectional area as calculated above by the pressure capacity of the hydraulic pump.

Example: using the cylinder calculation above and a 1,000 psi pump, multiply 19.625 by 1,000 to get 19,625 pounds of force. To convert from pounds to tons, divide this result by 2,000 and you get 9.8125 tons of pressure.