How to Convert Feet to Pounds for Stainless Steel Wire
How to Convert Feet to Pounds for Stainless Steel Wire
You can save money by calculating the exact weight of a length of stainless steel wire before making a purchase. Wire comes bound in a cylindrical shape, therefore calculation of its volume leads to its weight through knowledge of weight density. Weight density measures the compactness of a material. In the case of stainless steel, density equals 490 pounds per cubic foot, so if you know the length and thickness of the wire, you can find the density.
Instructions
1 Measure the length and thickness of the stainless steel wire in inches. In this example, the length would be 40 inches and the thickness 0.5 inches.
2 Divide the thickness of the wire by 2 to obtain its radius. In this example, completing this step yields a radius of 0.25 inches.
3 Multiply pi (3.14) times the square of the radius times the length to get the volume in cubic inches. In this example you would first multiply the value of the radius by itself (.25 X .25), then multiply that by 3.14, and finally multiply that product by the length, 40 inches, to get a volume of 7.9 cubic inches.
4 Convert the volume to cubic feet by dividing by 1,728, since a cubic foot equals 1,728 cubic inches. Now the wire volume becomes 7.9 cubic inches divided by 1,728 cubic inches per cubic foot, or 0.0046 cubic feet.
5 Multiply the volume by the weight density of stainless steel, 490, to arrive at the weight of the wire in pounds. Completing the exercise, you have 0.0046 cubic feet times 490 pounds per cubic foot which equals 2.3 pounds.
