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ft/day to m/s Converter — Soil Converter
Permeability Converter
Geotechnical
0

Formula
01

What this converter does

This converter changes hydraulic conductivity between ft/day, cm/s, m/day, m/s and darcy. It is useful when US groundwater figures must feed a metric seepage or soil-mechanics model. Every pair uses an exact factor, so results stay precise. Type a value and read the answer instantly.

Because 1 ft/day is only 3.53×10⁻⁶ m/s, US permeability numbers look far larger than their metric equivalents.

02

The units it covers

Hydraulic conductivity units, each expressed against the metre per second.

View all units & their values
UnitSymbolValueMainly used
Metre per secondm/s1SI, soil mechanics
Centimetre per secondcm/s0.01Lab test reporting
Metre per daym/day1.1574e-5Groundwater flow
Foot per dayft/day3.5278e-6US hydrogeology
Darcydarcy9.6699e-6Petroleum, ≈ water at 20°C
03

The formula

Each unit has a fixed value in m/s, so any pair converts through m/s:

Conversion
result = value × factor_from ÷ factor_to

Where:

  • value = the number you typed
  • factor_from = the “from” unit in m/s
  • factor_to = the “to” unit in m/s
04

Worked example

Convert 100 ft/day to m/s.

Step 1 · The factor
1 ft/day = 3.5278e-6 m/s
Step 2 · Multiply
100 × 3.5278e-6 = 3.53e-4 m/s

So 100 ft/day is about 3.5×10⁻⁴ m/s — a permeable sand.

05

The units in this example

Foot per daysymbol: ft/day

A US hydrogeology unit for groundwater flow and aquifer permeability.

Common permeability conversions
  • 1 ft/day = 3.528e-6 m/s
  • 1 ft/day ≈ 0.305 m/day
  • sand ≈ 5–500 ft/day
  • clay < 0.01 ft/day
Metre per secondsymbol: m/s

The SI unit of hydraulic conductivity used in soil mechanics and seepage analysis.

Common permeability conversions
  • 1 m/s = 100 cm/s
  • 1 m/s ≈ 283,465 ft/day
  • 1 m/s = 86,400 m/day
  • gravel ≈ 1e-2 m/s
06

FAQ

QHow do I convert ft/day to m/s?
Multiply the ft/day value by 3.5278×10⁻⁶. So 100 ft/day is about 3.5×10⁻⁴ m/s.
QWhy are metric values so small?
A day has 86,400 seconds, so spreading a foot of flow across it gives a tiny per-second figure.
08

Sources

USGS — groundwater · ASTM D2434 — permeability

InfoCalculator Editorial Team Fact-checked
Updated Jul 2026 · 3 min read · Reviewed by the InfoCalculator editorial team