HDPE (PE 100) Rectangular Tube Weight
Mass per metre and per foot for hdpe (pe 100) rectangular tube at 960 kg/m³ (ISO 4427 / ASTM D3350 (PE 100 black)). Every figure is for the section as drawn. A 6 m length of this size weighs 3.2 kg (7.3 lb per 20 ft).
At the reference dimensions (a = 60 mm, b = 40 mm, t = 3 mm) this section has a cross-sectional area of 564.0 mm², giving 0.541 kg/m (0.364 lb/ft). Against carbon steel's 7,850 kg/m³ that is -87.8 % — the same section in steel would be 4.427 kg/m.
Rectangular Tube — formula and derivation
Area of a rectangular tube
A = a·b − (a − 2t)(b − 2t)
A = a·b − (a − 2t)(b − 2t), which expands to A = 2t(a + b) − 4t²
Worked through with the default dimensions:
A = a·b − (a − 2t)(b − 2t)Outer = 60 × 40 = 2400.0 mm²Inner = 54.0 × 34.0 = 1836.0 mm²A = 2400.0 − 1836.0A = 564.0 mm²
- a
- Depth
- b
- Width
- t
- Wall thickness
Weight follows from the area with no further geometry: m = A × 10⁻⁶ × ρ, where A is in mm², ρ in kg/m³ and m in kg/m. At 960 kg/m³ that is 0.5414 kg/m for the reference size above.
HDPE rectangular tube — size series
| Depth | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mm | 0.078 kg/m · 0.052 lb/ft | 0.100 kg/m · 0.067 lb/ft | 0.138 kg/m · 0.093 lb/ft | 0.169 kg/m · 0.114 lb/ft | 0.192 kg/m · 0.129 lb/ft | 0.207 kg/m · 0.139 lb/ft |
| 25 mm | 0.099 kg/m · 0.067 lb/ft | 0.129 kg/m · 0.086 lb/ft | 0.181 kg/m · 0.122 lb/ft | 0.227 kg/m · 0.152 lb/ft | 0.264 kg/m · 0.177 lb/ft | 0.294 kg/m · 0.197 lb/ft |
| 30 mm | 0.121 kg/m · 0.081 lb/ft | 0.157 kg/m · 0.106 lb/ft | 0.225 kg/m · 0.151 lb/ft | 0.284 kg/m · 0.191 lb/ft | 0.336 kg/m · 0.226 lb/ft | 0.380 kg/m · 0.255 lb/ft |
| 40 mm | 0.164 kg/m · 0.110 lb/ft | 0.215 kg/m · 0.145 lb/ft | 0.311 kg/m · 0.209 lb/ft | 0.399 kg/m · 0.268 lb/ft | 0.480 kg/m · 0.323 lb/ft | 0.553 kg/m · 0.372 lb/ft |
| 50 mm | 0.207 kg/m · 0.139 lb/ft | 0.273 kg/m · 0.183 lb/ft | 0.397 kg/m · 0.267 lb/ft | 0.515 kg/m · 0.346 lb/ft | 0.624 kg/m · 0.419 lb/ft | 0.726 kg/m · 0.488 lb/ft |
| 60 mm | 0.251 kg/m · 0.168 lb/ft | 0.330 kg/m · 0.222 lb/ft | 0.484 kg/m · 0.325 lb/ft | 0.630 kg/m · 0.423 lb/ft | 0.768 kg/m · 0.516 lb/ft | 0.899 kg/m · 0.604 lb/ft |
| 80 mm | 0.337 kg/m · 0.226 lb/ft | 0.445 kg/m · 0.299 lb/ft | 0.657 kg/m · 0.441 lb/ft | 0.860 kg/m · 0.578 lb/ft | 1.056 kg/m · 0.710 lb/ft | 1.244 kg/m · 0.836 lb/ft |
| 100 mm | 0.423 kg/m · 0.284 lb/ft | 0.561 kg/m · 0.377 lb/ft | 0.829 kg/m · 0.557 lb/ft | 1.091 kg/m · 0.733 lb/ft | 1.344 kg/m · 0.903 lb/ft | 1.590 kg/m · 1.068 lb/ft |
| 120 mm | 0.510 kg/m · 0.343 lb/ft | 0.676 kg/m · 0.454 lb/ft | 1.002 kg/m · 0.673 lb/ft | 1.321 kg/m · 0.888 lb/ft | 1.632 kg/m · 1.097 lb/ft | 1.935 kg/m · 1.301 lb/ft |
| 150 mm | 0.639 kg/m · 0.430 lb/ft | 0.849 kg/m · 0.570 lb/ft | 1.261 kg/m · 0.848 lb/ft | 1.667 kg/m · 1.120 lb/ft | 2.064 kg/m · 1.387 lb/ft | 2.454 kg/m · 1.649 lb/ft |
| 200 mm | 0.855 kg/m · 0.575 lb/ft | 1.137 kg/m · 0.764 lb/ft | 1.693 kg/m · 1.138 lb/ft | 2.243 kg/m · 1.507 lb/ft | 2.784 kg/m · 1.871 lb/ft | 3.318 kg/m · 2.229 lb/ft |
Rows: depth (mm). Columns: wall thickness (mm). Computed for HDPE (PE 100) at 960 kg/m³.
| Depth | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mm | 81.0 | 104.0 | 144.0 | 176.0 | 200.0 | 216.0 |
| 25 mm | 103.5 | 134.0 | 189.0 | 236.0 | 275.0 | 306.0 |
| 30 mm | 126.0 | 164.0 | 234.0 | 296.0 | 350.0 | 396.0 |
| 40 mm | 171.0 | 224.0 | 324.0 | 416.0 | 500.0 | 576.0 |
| 50 mm | 216.0 | 284.0 | 414.0 | 536.0 | 650.0 | 756.0 |
| 60 mm | 261.0 | 344.0 | 504.0 | 656.0 | 800.0 | 936.0 |
| 80 mm | 351.0 | 464.0 | 684.0 | 896.0 | 1,100.0 | 1,296.0 |
| 100 mm | 441.0 | 584.0 | 864.0 | 1,136.0 | 1,400.0 | 1,656.0 |
| 120 mm | 531.0 | 704.0 | 1,044.0 | 1,376.0 | 1,700.0 | 2,016.0 |
| 150 mm | 666.0 | 884.0 | 1,314.0 | 1,736.0 | 2,150.0 | 2,556.0 |
| 200 mm | 891.0 | 1,184.0 | 1,764.0 | 2,336.0 | 2,900.0 | 3,456.0 |
Area is a property of the geometry alone, so this table is the same for every material. It is what you enter into a stress calculation; the mass table is what you enter into an order.
Each row is one nominal size. Because the area is computed from your dimensions rather than read from a mill table, a non-standard size is just as accurate — put it into the calculator above rather than interpolating between rows.
The same rectangular tube in every material
Geometry is fixed and only density changes, so this table is the whole material-selection question in one view. HDPE (PE 100) is highlighted. The percentage column is against carbon steel, which is the figure most quotations are built on.
| Material | Density kg/m³ | lb/in³ | Mass / length kg/m | lb/ft | vs carbon steel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon Steel | 7,850 | 0.2836 | 4.427 | 2.975 | +0.0 % |
| Stainless Steel 304 | 8,000 | 0.2890 | 4.512 | 3.032 | +1.9 % |
| Stainless Steel 316 | 8,000 | 0.2890 | 4.512 | 3.032 | +1.9 % |
| Stainless Steel 316L | 8,000 | 0.2890 | 4.512 | 3.032 | +1.9 % |
| Stainless Steel 430 | 7,700 | 0.2782 | 4.343 | 2.918 | -1.9 % |
| Aluminum 6061-T6 | 2,700 | 0.0975 | 1.523 | 1.023 | -65.6 % |
| Aluminum 5052-H32 | 2,680 | 0.0968 | 1.512 | 1.016 | -65.9 % |
| Aluminum 7075-T6 | 2,810 | 0.1015 | 1.585 | 1.065 | -64.2 % |
| Copper C11000 | 8,940 | 0.3230 | 5.042 | 3.388 | +13.9 % |
| Brass C36000 | 8,500 | 0.3071 | 4.794 | 3.221 | +8.3 % |
| Bronze C93200 | 8,800 | 0.3179 | 4.963 | 3.335 | +12.1 % |
| Titanium Grade 2 | 4,510 | 0.1629 | 2.544 | 1.709 | -42.5 % |
| Gray Cast Iron | 7,200 | 0.2601 | 4.061 | 2.729 | -8.3 % |
| Lead | 11,340 | 0.4097 | 6.396 | 4.298 | +44.5 % |
| Rigid PVC (Type I) | 1,400 | 0.0506 | 0.790 | 0.531 | -82.2 % |
| HDPE (PE 100) | 960 | 0.0347 | 0.541 | 0.364 | -87.8 % |
Same geometry throughout, so the only variable is density. Carbon steel is highlighted as the baseline.
A note on using this table for costing: mass is not price. Aluminium is roughly a third of steel's mass here, but per kilogram it costs several times more, so a straight swap rarely saves money — what it buys is reduced load on a structure or a vehicle.
About hdpe (pe 100)
High-density polyethylene and the lightest material in the catalogue at 960 kg/m³ — it floats. That is not a curiosity: buoyancy governs how submerged outfall and intake lines are installed, and HDPE’s ability to be towed and floated into place in long strings is why it displaced steel for marine pipelines. It is also tougher than PVC at low temperature and tolerates ground movement without cracking, at the cost of much lower pressure rating at the same wall thickness.
- Density
- 960 kg/m³ = 0.0347 lb/in³ · 0.1223× carbon steel · typical spread ±2 %
- Specification
- ISO 4427 / ASTM D3350 (PE 100 black)
- Equivalents
- EN PE 100 · JIS PE100 · GB PE100
- Typical uses
- Water and gas mains · Submarine outfall lines · Landfill and leachate pipe · Geomembrane and lining
Density splits into two families: PE 100 pipe grades 950–960 kg/m³, PE 63/80 grades 930–945 kg/m³. Black compound includes ~2 % carbon black.
About rectangular tube
Rectangular tube is the shape to reach for when a beam has to be shallower than it is wide in one direction only. Because depth drives bending stiffness far more than width does, taking a rectangular section and turning it 90° changes the stiffness dramatically while the weight stays identical — a 100 × 50 × 4 tube is about 4 times stiffer about its strong axis than its weak axis, at 9.10 kg/m either way. The table here holds the common 2:1 depth-to-width proportion; enter your own dimensions in the calculator when the section is not 2:1.
Specified as depth × width × wall thickness. Confirm which dimension is the depth on a drawing before computing loads.
Download this data
HDPE rectangular tube — CSV
Both buttons below read the tables rendered on this page, so the file matches what you are looking at. The full catalogue — all 16 materials across all 10 sections — is on the downloads page.
Fields are quoted per RFC 4180, with a UTF-8 byte-order mark so Excel reads the mm² and · characters correctly. Blank lines separate the weight matrix from the area matrix.
Frequently asked questions
How much does hdpe (pe 100) rectangular tube weigh?
At the reference dimensions (a = 60 mm, b = 40 mm, t = 3 mm) a hdpe (pe 100) rectangular tube of this size weighs 0.541 kg/m, or 0.364 lb/ft. The table above lists the figure for every standard size so you can read your size directly instead of scaling.
How is the weight of rectangular tube calculated?
Weight is cross-sectional area × length × density. For this shape the area is A = a·b − (a − 2t)(b − 2t). At the reference dimensions that gives 564.0 mm², and multiplying by hdpe (pe 100)'s density of 960 kg/m³ gives 0.541 kg/m. Nothing is looked up in a table — which is why a non-standard size is calculated just as accurately as a standard one.
Why does hdpe (pe 100) weigh more or less than steel?
It is lighter than carbon steel for the same section — about 88 % lighter at 960 kg/m³. Density is the only variable: the cross-sectional area depends purely on geometry, so a rectangular tube of the same dimensions has the same area in every material and the mass simply scales with density. In this case the ratio is 0.1223× carbon steel.
What is the cross-sectional area of a rectangular tube?
The area depends only on the dimensions, not on the material, so it is identical whichever material you select: at the reference dimensions it is 564.0 mm² (0.8742 in²). That is the number you would enter into a stress or deflection calculation, and it is why changing material on this page never changes the area column.
Does a hdpe rectangular tube weigh the same as a hdpe part of a different shape?
No, and the difference is larger than most people expect. At equal nominal size, a square bar is 27.3 % heavier than a round bar, and a hollow section is typically 60–80 % lighter than the solid bar it replaces. Weight follows area, and area changes faster than dimensions do — which is exactly why this needs calculating rather than estimating.
Should I use HDPE weight or carbon steel weight for costing?
Use the material you are actually buying. At 960 kg/m³ against carbon steel's 7,850 kg/m³, the same rectangular tube differs by 87.8 % in mass. On a per-metre quote that is invisible; on a fabricated tonnage it is the difference between a margin and a loss. This page computes the steel figure as 4.427 kg/m for comparison.
Other materials, same rectangular tube
The same geometry in every material, so the only variable is density.
- Carbon steel rectangular tube — 7850 kg/m³
- SS 304 rectangular tube — 8000 kg/m³
- SS 316 rectangular tube — 8000 kg/m³
- AL 6061 rectangular tube — 2700 kg/m³
- Copper rectangular tube — 8940 kg/m³
- Brass rectangular tube — 8500 kg/m³
- PVC rectangular tube — 1400 kg/m³
- AL 5052 rectangular tube — 2680 kg/m³
Other HDPE sections
The same density applied to every shape the site covers.
- HDPE round bar — A = π/4 · d²
- HDPE square bar — A = a²
- HDPE hexagonal bar — A = (√3/2) · AF² ≈ 0.8660 · AF²
- HDPE flat bar — A = w · t
- HDPE plate — A = w · t
- HDPE round tube — A = π/4 · (D² − d²), d = D − 2t
Reference data and tools
- Metal weight overview — how the calculation works
- All 16 materials — densities and specifications
- All 10 sections — formulas and size series
- Density chart — lightest to heaviest
- Metal weight calculator — any size, any material
- All calculators — metal weight and pipe weight
- Download the data — CSV, generated from the same source
- Cross-reference tables — DN / NPS / material equivalents
- Methodology and sources — where every number comes from
Rectangular Tube area from A = a·b − (a − 2t)(b − 2t). Mass computed as area × length × density at 960 kg/m³ (ISO 4427 / ASTM D3350 (PE 100 black)). No weight on this page is copied from a published table — which is why figures can differ in the last significant digit from a mill's chart calculated at a nominal density.
- Elementary plane geometry. The circle, polygon and hollow-section area formulas.
- ASTM material specifications for each grade named in the material entry (A36, A240/A276, B209/B211/B221, B152/B16/B505, B265/B348, A48, B29, D1784, D3350).
- BIPM / NIST definitional constants: international inch = 25.4 mm, foot = 0.3048 m, pound = 0.45359237 kg.
Dataset version 2026.09.1 · dimensions last verified against source 2026-09-21. Found an error? Report it — corrections are issued with a version bump.