Cables & circuits / FORMULA-BASED TOOL

Conduit fill calculator

Compare round cable cross-sectional area with a conduit’s usable internal area.

01Your inputs

Example values are prefilled. Replace them with your own.

mm

Use the actual internal dimension, not a nominal outside trade size.

mm
cables
1 / 20 groups
02The working, shownπr²
πr²

Every result has a reason.

Enter your values and calculate to see the result, formula and working here.

Area occupied = Σ (count × cable diameter²) ÷ inside diameter² × 100

Within this model

Geometric area ratio for circular cables and a circular internal opening. Uses cable outside diameters including insulation. Area alone does not determine whether cables physically fit or can be pulled. No permitted fill percentage, UK cable-factor method, bend, thermal or installation assessment is included.

UNDERSTAND THE CALCULATION

What the numbers mean.

A circle has area πd²/4. Summing the cable areas and dividing by the conduit’s internal area gives the percentage occupied by cable material. Circular packing leaves gaps, so a result below 100% does not establish fit.

A worked example

Four cables of 5 mm outside diameter occupy 25% of the cross-sectional area of a 20 mm inside-diameter conduit.

Validation, precision and limitations