Velocity Head (h = v²/2g)

h_v = \frac{v^{2}}{2g}

h_v =

v =

Enter your known values, leave one input blank, and solves for the missing one. Try different units for next level excitement!

Constant used — built into this formula, no need to enter

g_{n} = 9.80665\ \text{m/s}^{2}

Standard acceleration of gravity · exact

Learning zone

Velocity head is Torricelli's law read backwards: it asks how much elevation a moving stream could climb if all its speed were traded for height. Water at 3 m/s carries 3²/(2 × 9.80665) ≈ 0.46 m of velocity head. In the plumbing of treatment plants the total head budget — elevation plus pressure plus velocity — is conserved minus friction, and this term is the piece that grows wherever pipes narrow.

Velocity Head (h = v²/2g)

h_v = \frac{v^{2}}{2g}

Where

$h_v$ = Velocity head
$v$ = Flow velocity

Missing one of these? Work it out first, then come back

Velocity head — Total Dynamic Head, Hydraulic Power (P = ρgQh)
Flow velocity — Volumetric Flow Rate (Q = Av), Dynamic Pressure (q = ½ρv²)

Part of this formula set

Heads in a piping system

6 formulasPressure head, velocity head, static fill pressure and total dynamic head — the feet of water a pump and a gauge are each talking about.