The Confining Pressure Calculator

The Confining Pressure Calculator in Visualizing Stress (Figure 6) uses the equation for lithostatic stress defined in Equation to calculate the stress at the base of the granite cube, or confining pressure. Let us check the previous calculation using The Confining Pressure Calculator. From the menu items select Calculators and then Confining Pressure. In the textbox labeled h enter 1500 and in the option box labeled Units enter m for meters. Click Calculate. Note that Visualizing Stress provides the correct answer in the ten different units familiar to structural geologists.

Figure 6. The confining pressure calculator in Visualizing Stress with the ten common units used to describe stress.