QuickUnits

Density

Kilograms per cubic metre to pounds per cubic foot

1 kg/m³ = 0.062428 lb/ft³

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One kilogram per cubic metre is 0.0624279606 pounds per cubic foot. The factor combines a mass conversion and a cubed length conversion, which is why it lands on an untidy number that has to be looked up rather than remembered.

About the units

Kilograms per cubic metre is the SI density unit. Pounds per cubic foot is its American counterpart, standard in construction, HVAC and bulk materials handling. The conversion multiplies the pound-to-kilogram factor by the cubic-foot-to-cubic-metre factor, and because the second is a cube, the result is not intuitive from the linear conversions. Anyone who tries to derive it mentally from 2.2 pounds per kilogram and 3.28 feet per metre will get it wrong unless they remember to cube the second.

The exact factor

The derivation is 0.45359237 kg per lb divided by 0.028316846592 m³ per ft³, giving 16.018463374 kg/m³ per lb/ft³. Inverted, that is 0.0624279605761446. Reference values that make it concrete: water is 62.43 lb/ft³ against 1,000 kg/m³; concrete about 150 lb/ft³ or 2,400 kg/m³; structural steel 490 lb/ft³ or 7,850 kg/m³; and dry air 0.0765 lb/ft³ or 1.225 kg/m³. The figure 62.43 for water is worth memorising, because it anchors the whole scale in American practice the way 1,000 does in metric.

Where you meet this conversion

Construction and civil engineering across markets. Concrete mix designs, soil unit weights, insulation density and aggregate specifications are all in pounds per cubic foot in American practice and kilograms per cubic metre elsewhere. HVAC uses air density in both. Bulk material handling — grain, coal, wood chips — quotes bulk density in one unit or the other, and shipping calculations that mix them produce load errors. Timber grading uses density as a strength proxy and reports in both systems.

Common values

Value (kg/m³) Converted (lb/ft³)
1 0.062428
2 0.124856
5 0.31214
10 0.62428
25 1.5607
50 3.1214
100 6.2428
500 31.214
1 000 62.428

Values are rounded for reading. The converter above keeps full precision.

The other way around

1 lb/ft³ = 16.0185 kg/m³

Pounds per cubic foot to kilograms per cubic metre multiplies by 16.0185. The quick method: multiply by 16, which is low by a tenth of a per cent and entirely adequate for a first estimate.

Value (lb/ft³) Converted (kg/m³)
1 16.0185
2 32.0369
5 80.0923
10 160.185
25 400.462
50 800.923
100 1 601.85
500 8 009.23
1 000 16 018.5

Related conversions

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