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Unit Conversion Factors

ENGLISH UNITS
The following English units are commonly used in geotechnical engineering.

TABLE 1 Common English Units

Unit Measurement Symbol

Foot Distance ft
Inch Distance in.
Pound Force or mass lb
Kip (kilopound) Force kip
Ton Force or mass t
Second Time s
Pound per square foot Stress or pressure lb/ft2 or psf
Pound per square inch Stress or pressure lb/in.2 or psi
Pound per cubic foot Unit weight lb/ft3 or pcf

SI AND METRIC UNITS

The following SI (Système International) units are commonly used in geotechnical
engineering.

TABLE 2 Common SI Units

Unit Measurement Symbol

Meter Distance M
Gram Mass g
Newton Force N
Pascal Stress or pressure Pa
Kilonewton per cubic meter Unit weight kN/m3
Second Time s

These units are often accompanied by the following prefixes.

TABLE 3 Common SI Prefixes

Prefix Symbol Multiplier

milli m 10 -3
centi c 10 -2
kilo k 103
mega M 106

Some non-SI metric units also are used, especially in Europe.The most common example
is the use of kg/cm2 as a unit of stress.
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CONVERSION FACTORS
The conversion factors in Tables 4–8 are useful for converting measurements between
English, metric, and SI units. Most of these factors are rounded to four significant figures.
Those in bold type are absolute conversion factors (e.g., 12 in. = 1 ft). When units of
force are equated to units of mass, the acceleration 1F = ma2 is presumed to be
9.807 m/s 2 132.17 ft/s 22, which is the acceleration due to gravity on the earth’s surface.
There are at least three definitions for the word “ton”: the 2000-lb short ton
(commonly used in the United States and Canada), the 2240-lb long ton (used in Great
Britain), and the 2205-lb (1000 kg) metric ton (also known as a tonne).
A useful approximate conversion factor: 1 short ton/ft2 L 1kg/cm2 L 100 kPa L 1
atmosphere. These are true to within 2 to 4%.

TABLE 4 Units of Distance

To Convert To Multiply by

ft in. 12
ft m 0.3048
in. t 1/12
in. mm 25.40
m ft 3.281
mm in. 0.03937

TABLE 5 Units of Force

To Convert To Multiply by

k kN 4.448
k lb 1000
kgf lb 2.205
kgf N 9.807
kgf ton (metric) 0.001
kN k 0.2248
lb k 0.001
lb kgf 0.4536
lb N 4.448
lb ton (short) 1/2000
lb ton (long) 1/2240
N kgf 0.1020
N lb 0.2248
ton (short) lb 2000
ton (long) lb 2240
ton (metric) kgf 1000

TABLE 6 Units of Volume

To Convert To Multiply by
3
ft gal 7.481
gal ft3 0.1337
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TABLE 7 Units of Stress and Pressure

To Convert To Multiply by

atmosphere lb/ft2 2117

atmosphere kPa 101.3
bar kPa 100
kgf/cm2 kPa 98.07
kgf/cm2 lb/ft2 2048
kPa atmosphere 0.009869
kPa bar 0.01
kPa kgf/cm2 0.01020
kPa lb/ft2 20.89
kPa lb/in.2 0.1450
kPa metric ton/m2 0.1020
lb/ft2 atmosphere 4.725 * 10-4
lb/ft2 kPa 0.04787
lb/ft2 lb/in.2 1/144
lb/in.2 kPa 6.895
lb/in.2 lb/ft2 144
lb/in.2 MPa 6.895 * 10-3
metric ton/m2 kPa 9.807
MPa lb/in.2 145.0

TABLE 8 Units of Unit Weight

To Convert To Multiply by

kN/m3 lb/ft3 6.366

kN/m3 metric ton/m3 0.1020
kN/m3 Mgf/m3 0.1020
lb/ft3 kN/m3 0.1571
metric ton/m3 kN/m3 9.807
Mgf/m3 kN/m3 9.807