🧱 lb/ft³ to kg/m³ — Pound/Cubic Foot to Kilogram/Cubic Meter Converter

Convert density units — kg/m³, g/cm³, lb/ft³, lb/in³ and more.

1 unit =
From
To
Formula 1 lb/ft³ = 16.02 kg/m³
UnitNameValue
kg/m³ Kilogram/Cubic Meter 16.0185
g/cm³ Gram/Cubic Centimeter 0.0160185
kg/L Kilogram/Liter 0.0160185
lb/in³ Pound/Cubic Inch 0.00057870513
oz/in³ Ounce/Cubic Inch 0.0092593021
t/m³ Tonne/Cubic Meter 0.0160185

Quick Answer

Formula: kg/m³ = lb/ft³ × 16.02

Multiply any lb/ft³ value by 16.02 to get kg/m³.

Reverse: lb/ft³ = kg/m³ × 0.06243

Worked Examples

Water
62.43 lb/ft³ × 16.02 = 1000 kg/m³
62.43 lb/ft³ = 1,000 kg/m³ — water.
Steel
490 lb/ft³ × 16.02 = 7849 kg/m³
490 lb/ft³ = 7,853 kg/m³ — structural steel.
Air
0.0765 lb/ft³ × 16.02 = 1.225 kg/m³
0.0765 lb/ft³ = 1.225 kg/m³ — air at sea level.
Concrete
150 lb/ft³ × 16.02 = 2403 kg/m³
150 lb/ft³ = 2,403 kg/m³ — normal concrete.

lb/ft³ to kg/m³ Conversion Table

Common materials — factor: 1 lb/ft³ = 16.02 kg/m³

lb/ft³ (lb/ft³)kg/m³ (kg/m³)Material
0.001 lb/ft³0.01602 kg/m³Vacuum
0.01 lb/ft³0.1602 kg/m³Low pressure gas
0.1 lb/ft³1.602 kg/m³Very light foam
0.0765 lb/ft³1.225 kg/m³Air
1 lb/ft³16.02 kg/m³Light insulation
10 lb/ft³160.2 kg/m³Rigid foam
43.7 lb/ft³700 kg/m³Wood (oak)
57.4 lb/ft³919.5 kg/m³Concrete light
62.4 lb/ft³999.6 kg/m³Water
64 lb/ft³1025 kg/m³Seawater
100 lb/ft³1602 kg/m³Dense concrete
167 lb/ft³2675 kg/m³Aluminum
490 lb/ft³7849 kg/m³Steel
708 lb/ft³1.134e+04 kg/m³Lead
1204 lb/ft³1.929e+04 kg/m³Gold

Mental Math Tricks

× 16.018

lb/ft³ × 16.018 = kg/m³. Round to × 16.

Key anchors

62.4 lb/ft³ = 1,000 kg/m³ (water). 490 lb/ft³ = 7,850 kg/m³ (steel).

Reverse

kg/m³ × 0.06243 = lb/ft³.

Who Uses This Conversion?

Materials Engineer

Compares material densities to optimize weight-to-strength ratios in product design.

Civil/Structural Engineer

Calculates dead loads from material densities for structural design in kg/m³ and lb/ft³.

Aerospace Engineer

Selects lightweight materials (aluminum, titanium, composites) based on density in g/cm³ or lb/in³.

Petroleum Engineer

Measures crude oil and drilling fluid density in kg/m³ or lb/ft³ for reservoir engineering.

Geotechnical Engineer

Measures soil and rock bulk density in t/m³ for foundation and slope stability analysis.

Chemical Engineer

Uses density in g/cm³ for solution concentration, specific gravity, and process design calculations.

Frequently Asked Questions

About lb/ft³ and kg/m³

lb/ft³ (lb/ft³)

Pounds per cubic foot (lb/ft³) is the standard density unit in US engineering and construction. One lb/ft³ equals approximately 16.018 kg/m³. It is used for structural materials, soil, insulation, and HVAC calculations in American practice.

Common lb/ft³ values: air = 0.0765 lb/ft³, water = 62.4 lb/ft³, concrete = 145–150 lb/ft³, structural steel = 490 lb/ft³, wood varies 20–50 lb/ft³. ASHRAE tables for HVAC use lb/ft³ for air and refrigerant densities.

Interesting fact: Aerogel, the world's least dense solid material, has a density of about 0.1–1 lb/ft³ (1.6–16 kg/m³). It is primarily composed of air and can support thousands of times its own weight.

kg/m³ (kg/m³)

Kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m³) is the SI unit of density, defined as the mass in kilograms contained in one cubic meter of a substance. It became the international standard with the adoption of the SI system in 1960.

Most physical and engineering tables express density in kg/m³: water = 1,000 kg/m³, air = 1.225 kg/m³, steel = 7,850 kg/m³, gold = 19,300 kg/m³. The kg/m³ is the base unit for Archimedes' buoyancy calculations and fluid dynamics.

Interesting fact: The density of the Sun's core is about 150,000 kg/m³ — 150 times denser than water. Osmium, the densest naturally occurring element, has a density of 22,590 kg/m³, nearly twice that of lead.

About lb/ft³ to kg/m³ Conversion

Converting lb/ft³ to kg/m³ is common in materials science, engineering, and manufacturing. SI units (kg/m³, g/cm³) are standard in scientific and metric engineering contexts, while Imperial units (lb/ft³, lb/in³) are used in US construction and aerospace. Water at 4°C = 62.43 lb/ft³ = 1000 kg/m³ — a universal anchor for density comparisons.

Exact factor: 1 lb/ft³ = 16.02 kg/m³. Reverse: 1 kg/m³ = 0.06243 lb/ft³.

All conversions use IEEE 754 double-precision arithmetic, accurate to at least 8 significant figures.