Tube geometry, mass and section properties
Calculate Hollow Cylinder Volume, Surface and Mass
Calculate the material in a pipe or tube from radii, diameters or wall thickness. The labelled cutaway also reports bore capacity, exposed surface area, mass and engineering section properties.Define the tube
Material and costing
Labelled tube cutaway
Outer and inner measurements must use the same unit. The visual is explanatory and not a fabrication drawing.
Hollow cylinder results
Hollow cylinder volume formula
Material volume is π(R² − r²)L, where R is outer radius, r is inner radius and L is length. Bore capacity is πr²L. A tube’s material volume is therefore the full outer cylinder minus the empty inner cylinder.
Surface area and section properties
Outside curved area is 2πRL; inside curved area is 2πrL; both annular ends total 2π(R² − r²). The centroidal area moment of inertia is π(R⁴ − r⁴)/4 and the polar area moment is π(R⁴ − r⁴)/2. Both are reported per tube cross-section, not multiplied by tube length or quantity. These geometric properties do not by themselves determine allowable structural load.
Questions
Can I enter wall thickness instead of an inner diameter?
Yes. Choose outer diameter and wall thickness; inner radius is calculated as outer radius minus wall thickness.
Does the bore volume equal the amount of liquid a pipe holds?
It is the ideal straight-tube internal volume. Fittings, slope, incomplete filling and end connections can change practical capacity.
Can density calculate weight?
Yes. The tool converts material volume to cubic meters and multiplies it by the selected density.