APPENDIX B

A Note on the Use of SI Units in

Structural Engineering

CONTENTS*

B.1 Geometry
B.2 Densities, Gravity Loads, Weights
B.3 Force, Moment, Stress, and Other Stress Resultants
B.4 Miscellaneous (Angles, Temperature, Energy, Power)
B.5 SI System Standard Practice

The International System of Units (Systeme International d’Unites), commonly called SI, is being
adopted around the world as a uniform measurement system. Since usage of SI in engineering and
scientific circles is proceeding rather rapidly, it will soon be essential that the modern civil engineer
be experienced in using the SI system. For this reason, every effort has been made to make the
second edition conform to the SI system of units.
The units adopted here for structural engineering work have been arrived at by careful study
of SI references and using ASCE, AISC, AISI, and other technical recommendations. The SI user
is urged to study the available references in the literature (e.g., ASTM, ASCE Standards) for a
more general and complete treatment of this important topic.
The SI system differs from the MKS (meter-kilogram-second) system in the units of force and
stress. In the MKS system, the unit of force is the kilogram force (kgf), while in SI it is a newton,
which is explained below. Stress in the old metric system was expressed in units such as kilogram
force per square centimeter (kgf/cm2), while in SI it is newtons per square meter (N/m2), known
as pascal (Pa).
The basic and derived SI units for various categories of measurement are discussed in the
following sections. A summary of pertinent SI units and conversion factors from U.S. Customary
units is given at the end of the discussion. SI values for typical easily recognized quantities are
also listed.

* This appendix is based on a similar one in White, R. N., Gergely, P., and Sexsmith, R. G., Structural Engineering, John
Wiley & Sons, New York, 1976.

©1999 CRC Press LLC

 B.1 GEOMETRY

The length units, the meter (m) and the millimeter (mm), will be used for geometric quantities.
The use of millimeter units for section modulus and moment of inertia (second moment of area)
does involve large numbers for the majority of common structural shapes; this problem is met by
listing steel section properties as (section modulus 103 mm3) and (inertia 106 mm4).

B.2 DENSITIES, GRAVITY LOADS, WEIGHTS

The standard of mass in SI is the kilogram (kg), equal to the mass of the international prototype
of the kilogram (about 2.2 lb mass). This use of kg must not be confused with the old metric force
called a kg or kgf.
Gravity loads exert forces on structures, and the conversion from mass to force becomes
essential. In SI, the force unit is a newton (N), about ¹⁄₅ lb. It is the force required to accelerate 1
kilogram mass by 1 meter per second squared; a kilogram of mass exerts 9.80665 N on its support
point. Load expressed in both kilogram and newton units will thus differ by the factor 9.80665
(9.8 for practical purposes).

B.3 FORCE, MOMENT, STRESS, AND OTHER STRESS RESULTANTS

The preceding section defines the newton (N) as the basic SI measure of force. The kilonewton
(1000 N or kN) is about ¹⁄₅ of a kip and will be used widely in structural design. These force units
are combined with meters to express loadings, bending and twisting moments, and other quantities
involving length and force.
The basic stress unit in SI is the newton per meter squared (N/m2), called the pascal (Pa). This
is a very small unit (1 psi = 6895 Pa) that becomes practical only when used with a large prefix
(k or M). The most convenient SI stress unit for structures is 1 000 000 Pa, the megapascal, or MPa,
which is identical to 1 MN/m2 (or 1 N/mm2), and approximates ¹⁄₇ ksi. Since 1 ksi = 6.895 MPa,
the modulus of steel as an example will be 200,000 MPa (or N/mm2) in SI units.
Surface loadings and soil pressures have the units of pressure or stress, but the common usage
will dictate their expression in kilonewtons per meter squared (kN/m2). Surface loads in particular
are well expressed in kilonewtons per meter squared because their effects must be converted into
kilonewtons during structural analysis.
Moment is expressed in meter-newtons (m N) or meter-kilonewtons (m kN). These units are
convenient since a meter-newton is close in value to a foot-pound (ft lb) and a meter-kilonewton
is close to a foot-kip.

B.4 MISCELLANEOUS (ANGLES, TEMPERATURE, ENERGY, POWER)

Plane angles are still measured in radians (rad) and solid angles in steradians (sr) in the SI
system. Temperature in SI should be in degrees Celsius (C in old centigrade scale), but temperature
in Kelvin (K) is also permissible, and the two are interchangeable for temperature gradients since
1°C = 1 K. Energy is expressed in joules (J): a joule is a newton-meter (N m), and work is in watts
(W), which is 1 joule per second (J/s).

©1999 CRC Press LLC

 B.5 SI SYSTEM STANDARD PRACTICE

There are several simple rules to be observed in using the SI system:

1. Preferred prefixes are to be selected from the following table, in which each prefix is a
multiple of 1000:

Prefix Symbol Multiplication Factor

giga G 109
mega M 106
kilo k 103
— unit 1
milli m 10–3
micro µ 10 –6
nano n 10–9

2. Use prefixes in the numerator only, except for kilogram, the base unit of mass. Thus, the
stress unit of newton per millimeter squared (N/mm2) is not recommended, rather mega-
newton per meter squared (MN/m2).
3. Separate digits in groups of three, counting from the decimal sign. Do not separate with
commas since the comma is used for the decimal point in many countries. Examples:

1,234.57 = 1 234.57
0.58729 = 0.587 29
4789 = 4 789 or 4789

4. Abbreviations of compound units, such as for moment, are written with a centered dot
to indicate multiplication, such as m kN. If the unit is spelled out, a hyphen or space is
used (meter-kilonewton). Abbreviations of compound units that are divided are always
written with a slash; thus kilogram per meter is abbreviated kg/m.

U.S. Customary Units, SI Units, and Conversion Factors

(for converting U.S. to SI) in Structural Engineering
U.S. Conversion SI
Property Customary · Factor = Units
Overall geometry
Spans ft · 0.3048a = m
Displacement in. · 25.4a = mm
Surface area ft2 · 0.0929 = m2
Volume ft3 · 0.0283 = m3
yd3 · 0.765 = m3
Structural properties
Cross-sectional dimensions in. · 25.4a = mm
Area in.2 · 645.2 = mm2
Section modulus, volume in.3 · 16.39 = 103 mm3b
Moment of inertia in.4 · 0.4162 = 106 mm4b
(second moment of inertia)
Material properties
Density lb/in.3 · 27 680 = kg/m3
lb/ft3 · 16.03 = kg/m3
Modulus and stress values psi · 0.006895 = MPa
ksi · 6.895 = MPa
a Exact.
b AISC uses this style in SI units.

©1999 CRC Press LLC

Loadings Mass Units Force Units
Concentrated loads kip · 0.4536 = Mga kip · 4.448 = kN
Self-weight (density) lb/ft3 · 16.03 = kg/m3 lb/ft3 · 0.1571 = kN/m3
Line loads (linear density) k/ft · 1488 = kg/m k/ft · 14.59 = kN/m
Surface loads lb/ft2 · 4.882 = kg/m2 lb/ft2 · 0.0479 = kN/m2
k/ft2 · 4882 = kg/m2 kg/m2 · 47.9 = kN/m2
Stresses, moments
Stress psi · 6895 = Pa
ksi · 6.895 = MPa (MN/m2 or N/mm2)
Moment, torque ft•lb (or lb•ft) · 1.356 = m•N (or N•m)
ft•k (or k•ft) · 1.356 = m•kN (or kN•m)
Miscellaneous
Velocity fps · 0.3048 = m/s
Energy ft•lb force · 1.356 = N•m = J
Temperature t°C = (t°F – 32)(5/9)
tk = t°F + 273.15
Linear expansion coefficient °F–1 · 1.8 = °C–1 or K–1

Typical Values
Property U.S. Customary Approximate SI
Water density 62.4 lb/ft3 1000 kg/m3 = 1 t/m 3

Concrete density 150 lb/ft 3 2400 kg/m3

Steel modulus E 29,000,000 psi 200 000 Mpa
Concrete modulus E 3,500,000 psi 24 000 MPa
Allowable steel stress 25 ksi 170 MPa
Design live load 100 psi 5kN/m 2

©1999 CRC Press LLC