An Ultimate Guide to Concrete Cylinder Calculator

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “concrete cylinder calculator”. The first thing is we take it as a calculator used to calculate something for a concrete cylinder, and yes, this is its easiest definition. 

A concrete cylinder calculator is a type of concrete calculator used to calculate the volume of concrete for any cylindrical structure construction. The cylindrical structure in construction includes columns, pipes, piles, cylindrical footings, silos, etc. 

When contractors or building engineers are planning the material collection for such constructions, they take help from the concrete cylinder calculator. The concrete calculator is used before the construction. It is used to estimate the volume of concrete needed for the construction of such a structure. When they successfully find out the estimate, they can easily provide a quote to the clients and also plan the material purchase from the supplier. 

The Use Of the Concrete Cylinder Calculator

The concrete cylinder calculator provides you with the correct estimate of concrete you will need to fill the cylindrical structure. Just like other concrete calculators, it too works using the dimension of the area. The dimensions here are not the length, width, etc but the diameter.

As we know,  a cylinder is a three dimensional shape with two identical circular bases connected by a curved surface. It has two main dimensions, the diameter and the height. The diameter is the distance across the circular base of the cylinder and it determines the wideness of the structure. On the other hand, height is the length from the top to the bottom of the structure.

A concrete cylinder calculator requires these two dimensions to calculate the concrete volume for the cylindrical structure. It has a built-in formula to calculate the concrete volume. 

The use of a calculator is quite easy. Just follow these steps.

• Visit any concrete calculator website like TogCalculator 
• Click on Concrete calculators 
• Move to concrete cylindrical calculator 
• Add the diameter and height 
• Add the quantity if needed 
• For cost estimation, add the cost of concrete per square meter 
• Click on the Calculate button 

These are the easiest steps to calculate the concrete volume using a concrete calculator. 

Formula to Calculate Concrete 

There is one formula to calculate the concrete volume. 

Volume = π × (radius)² × height

This formula is used to calculate the concrete volume manually. Moreover, this formula is also set up in the calculator. This means the calculator also applies this formula to give the concrete volume for the cylindrical structure. 

How is the Concrete Cylinder Calculator Useful?

A concrete cylinder calculator guides the contractors and builders about the correct volume and ratio of concrete by keeping the process easy and clear. The use of a concrete calculator is useful in multiple ways: 

• The calculator applies the standard formula for calculation, V = π × (D/2)² × H. This way, the concrete volume estimation proves correct. You can cross-check by calculating manually for self-satisfaction.
• It removes manual calculation errors. We know manual calculation always leads to unexpected errors. Errors usually happen no matter how much we try to be careful. It sometimes happens in the form of units and numbers. The calculator saves us from these errors and gives an accurate estimate using our entered values.
• It supports multiple units, including meters, inches, feet, etc. This saves you from calculating anything manually and spending hours doing so.
• It provides both wet and dry concrete volumes, and this is very useful for the ordering process. It helps the builders to plan batching and ordering for concrete delivery/
• These calculators are so useful that they have the features to enter the number of identical cylinders to get the total volume in one go.
• It displays results in a simple table that you can easily save or note down for later use.
• It follows clear geometry, so every number is transparent and easy to verify.

However, the main benefits of using the calculator are, it saves time and effort. Moreover, it prevents the calculation from human errors and mistakes. Anyone can plan their material purchase using the calculator estimate.

Numerical Example of Concrete Cylinder Calculator 

Now, let us show you a numerical example of the calculation for the concrete volume. At this point you, suppose you want to know the concrete volume for a circular column that has the following dimensions. 

• Diameter (D) = 0.6 m
• Height (H) = 1.5 m
• Quantity (q) = 3
• Dry factor (k) = 1.54
• Output unit = m³

To find the wet volume for one cylinder, we will use the following formula: 

V = π × (D/2)² × H

V = π × (0.6/2)² × 1.5

V = π × (0.3)² × 1.5

V = π × 0.09 × 1.5

V = 0.4241 m³

 

So, this is the volume of ready mixed concrete required for one cylindrical shaped structure but we need it to fill the three. So we will apply another formula. 

Vwet = V × q

Vwet = 0.4241 × 3 = 1.2723 m³

So, the total volume of wet concrete required to fill three cylindrical shaped structures with 0.6 m in diameter and 1.5 meter high is 1.2723 m³. We have used the word “wet” which is volume of wet concrete. When you are using the calculator, you will come across two words, wet and dry concrete volume. Wet concrete volume is the ready mixed concrete prepared in plants and delivered at the time of placing. while dry concrete is the premixed concrete sold in bags.

Once the calculator gives you the result of wet concrete, it will move to the second step which is finding out the volume for dry concrete. Before moving further, let us guide you about dry factor (k). You might have seen above we have written dry factor = 1.54. It is not a random number but based on practical assessments by the experts. 

When you calculate concrete volume using any calculator, you get the wet volume which is the volume of concrete after mixing water with cement, sand, and other material used for concrete preparation.

We all know, before mixing, these materials exist in dry form, and when they are dry, they take up more space because there are small air gaps between the particles. Now here is the point to understand the dry factor.

The dry factor is a number that tells you how much extra volume you need to account for these air gaps and wastage during mixing and placing. Engineers have studied and tested this over time, and through experience, they found that dry materials usually occupy about 54% more volume than the wet concrete.

That’s why the dry factor is taken as 1.54.

Here’s what it means:

The value 1.00 represents the wet volume which we can say is the compacted concrete. The extra 0.54 represents the additional space taken up by the dry materials and the small loss during mixing and placing.

So,

Dry Volume = Wet Volume × 1.54

So, to find out the dry volume of concrete for our required dimensions, we will apply this same formula.

Vdry = 1.2723 × 1.54 = 1.9593 m³

Now, here you can understand better, the calculator uses the following formulas to give you results that are accurate and ready to go with. On the other hand, if you are calculating manually, you should use the same above mentioned formulas for calculation.  Construction engineers are much aware of these formulas and calculation methods. However, if you are new to the field, you must have knowledge about this. 

Ending Note 

In the end, all we can say is that a concrete cylinder volume calculator is a useful tool that has made our life easier in the construction field. We can quickly estimate the volume of concrete for any project using the dimensions of the area. It gives accurate and fast results and highlights the amount of both wet and dry concrete. It is a helpful planning tool that saves you time and also provides accurate estimation without errors. 

If you are working with cylindrical concrete structures such as columns, piers, poles etc this, the concrete calculator assists in making your work easier by providing you with clear estimation in no time. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How to calculate Concrete for a cylinder?

Concrete for a cylinder can be calculated using a concrete cylinder calculator. It gives accurate estimation of concrete volume you require to fill the structure.

What sizes are concrete cylinders?

Concrete cylinders are available in different sizes. Standard size cylinders are 150 mm in diameter and 300 mm in height. Smaller sized cylinders are 100 mm by 200 mm diameter by height respectively.

Can I use a concrete cylindrical calculator for any type of cylindrical structure?

Yes, you can use a concrete cylinder calculator for calculating the concrete volume of any type of cylindrical structure. You just need the diameter and height of the structure for the calculation process using a calculator.