Bulk density and material weight calculator

It brings together the density of about 150 materials (metals, plastics, woods, liquids, fuels and bulk solids), each with its source, and converts volume to weight or weight to volume. You can enter the size of a box or truck body, a vertical cylindrical tank or a conical pile, or just a volume or a weight. In the example, a 10 × 7 × 2.5 ft truck body full of dry sand weighs about 8.75 short tons.

Density is mass per volume of solid material: steel, water, plastic. Bulk density, used for bulk solids, includes the voids between particles, so it is much lower: loose dry sand runs 90 to 110 lb/ft³, while a quartz grain is about 165 lb/ft³. For truck loads, bins, piles and freight, bulk density is what counts.

Because bulk density changes with moisture, particle size and how much the material has settled (vibration in transit, pile height). In the example truck body, the sand could weigh 7.88 to 9.63 short tons. To buy or sell by volume, measure your material: weigh a bucket or box of known volume filled without tamping and enter the result as your own density.

Each material shows its source: pure elements and solvents from the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics; acid and caustic solutions from Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook; steel, stainless, concrete and glass from EN standards; alloys from the ASM Handbook; plastics from typical ranges in the Modern Plastics Handbook; woods from the USDA Wood Handbook; fuels from their specifications (ASTM D1655, EN 590 and others); and bulk solids from the CEMA 350 table. Angles of repose are typical CEMA values, given for some bulk solids only.

For a conical pile, height comes from the diameter and the angle of repose: h = D/2 × tan(α), and volume is π·D²·h/12. With a 26 ft base and dry sand’s 34°, the pile is about 8.8 ft high and holds about 1,550 ft³. For a vertical cylindrical tank, volume is π·D²/4 × level. For elongated piles, hoppered silos and tanks with heads, use the stockpile and silo and the tank volume calculators, which take the density from this page.

Yes. Table values are at 20 °C (68 °F) unless noted (acetone at 25 °C, gasoline and European diesel at 15 °C). Water changes little near room temperature (about 0.01% per °F), but solvents and fuels lose roughly 0.05% of density per °F. U.S. petroleum products are sold on volume corrected to 60 °F, so correct before comparing with a meter reading.

Use it as a starting point. Alloys, plastics and fuels vary with composition, wood with moisture and bulk solids from lot to lot. For trade, use measured density or the supplier’s certificate; for bins, floors and vehicles, use the top of the range and respect load limits. Structural design and certified reports need a licensed professional engineer.