8/21/2016

SieveanalysisWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Sieveanalysis
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Asieveanalysis(orgradationtest)isapracticeorprocedure
used(commonlyusedincivilengineering)toassesstheparticle
sizedistribution(alsocalledgradation)ofagranularmaterial.
Thesizedistributionisoftenofcriticalimportancetothewaythe
materialperformsinuse.Asieveanalysiscanbeperformedon
anytypeofnonorganicororganicgranularmaterialsincluding
sands,crushedrock,clays,granite,feldspars,coal,soil,awide
rangeofmanufacturedpowders,grainandseeds,downtoa
minimumsizedependingontheexactmethod.Beingsucha
simpletechniqueofparticlesizing,itisprobablythemost
common.[1]

Contents
1 Procedure
1.1 Preparation
2 Results
3 Methods
3.1 Throwactionsieving
3.2 Horizontalsieving
3.3 Tappingsieving
3.4 SuperSonicsieving
3.5 Wetsieving
3.6 AirCircularJetSieving
4 Typesofgradation
5 Typesofsieves
6 Limitationsofsieveanalysis
7 Properties
8 Engineeringapplications
9 "Sieving"withdigitalimageprocessing
9.1 Themethodfordigitalimageprocessingisthe
following
9.2 Realtimedatareportingofimageprocessing
10 Seealso
11 References
12 Externallinks

Granulometry

Basicconcepts
ParticlesizeGrainsize
SizedistributionMorphology
Methodsandtechniques
MeshscaleOpticalgranulometry
SieveanalysisSoilgradation
Relatedconcepts
GranulationGranularmaterial
MineraldustPatternrecognition
Dynamiclightscattering

Procedure
Agradationtestisperformedonasampleofaggregateinalaboratory.Atypicalsieveanalysisinvolvesa
nestedcolumnofsieveswithwiremeshcloth(screen).SeetheseparateMesh(scale)pagefordetailsofsieve
sizing.
Arepresentativeweighedsampleispouredintothetopsievewhichhasthelargestscreenopenings.Eachlower
sieveinthecolumnhassmalleropeningsthantheoneabove.Atthebaseisaroundpan,calledthereceiver.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieve_analysis

1/7

8/21/2016

SieveanalysisWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thecolumnistypicallyplacedinamechanicalshaker.Theshaker
shakesthecolumn,usuallyforsomefixedamountoftime.Afterthe
shakingiscompletethematerialoneachsieveisweighed.Theweight
ofthesampleofeachsieveisthendividedbythetotalweighttogivea
percentageretainedoneachsieve.Thesizeoftheaverageparticleon
eachsieveisthenanalysedtogetacutoffpointorspecificsizerange,
whichisthencapturedonascreen.
Theresultsofthistestareusedtodescribethepropertiesofthe
aggregateandtoseeifitisappropriateforvariouscivilengineering
purposessuchasselectingtheappropriateaggregateforconcretemixes
andasphaltmixesaswellassizingofwaterproductionwellscreens.

Sievesusedforgradationtest.

Theresultsofthistestareprovidedingraphicalformtoidentifythe
typeofgradationoftheaggregate.Thecompleteprocedureforthistest
isoutlinedintheAmericanSocietyforTestingandMaterials(ASTM)C
136[2]andtheAmericanAssociationandStateHighwayand
TransportationOfficials(AASHTO)T27[3]
Asuitablesievesizefortheaggregateunderneaththenestofsievesto
collecttheaggregatethatpassesthroughthesmallest.Theentirenestis
thenagitated,andthematerialwhosediameterissmallerthanthemesh
openingpassthroughthesieves.Aftertheaggregatereachesthepan,the
amountofmaterialretainedineachsieveisthenweighed.[4]

Preparation
Inordertoperformthetest,asufficientsampleoftheaggregatemustbe
obtainedfromthesource.Topreparethesample,theaggregateshould
bemixedthoroughlyandbereducedtoasuitablesizefortesting.The
totalweightofthesampleisalsorequired.[4]
Amechanicalshakerusedforsieve
analysis.

Results
Theresultsarepresentedinagraphofpercentpassingversusthesieve
size.Onthegraphthesievesizescaleislogarithmic.Tofindthepercent
ofaggregatepassingthrougheachsieve,firstfindthepercentretainedin
eachsieve.Todoso,thefollowingequationisused,
%Retained=

100%

whereWSieveistheweightofaggregateinthesieveandWTotalisthe

Graphsofcumulativepercentpassing
totalweightoftheaggregate.Thenextstepistofindthecumulative
versusthelogarithmicsievesize.
percentofaggregateretainedineachsieve.Todoso,addupthetotal
amountofaggregatethatisretainedineachsieveandtheamountinthe
previoussieves.Thecumulativepercentpassingoftheaggregateisfoundbysubtractingthepercentretained
from100%.

%CumulativePassing=100%%CumulativeRetained.
Thevaluesarethenplottedonagraphwithcumulativepercentpassingontheyaxisandlogarithmicsievesize
onthexaxis.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieve_analysis

2/7

8/21/2016

SieveanalysisWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Therearetwoversionsofthe%Passingequations.the.45powerformulaispresentedon.45powergradation
chart,whereasthemoresimple%Passingispresentedonasemiloggradationchart.versionofthepercent
passinggraphisshownon.45powerchartandbyusingthe.45passingformula.
.45powerpercentpassingformula
%Passing=Pi=

x100%

Where:
SieveLargestLargestdiametersieveusedin(mm).
Aggregatemax_sizeLargestpieceofaggregateinthesamplein(mm).
Percentpassingformula
%Passing=

x100%

Where:
WBelowThetotalmassoftheaggregatewithinthesievesbelowthecurrentsieve,notincludingthecurrent
sieve'saggregate.
WTotalThetotalmassofalloftheaggregateinthesample.

Methods
Therearedifferentmethodsforcarryingoutsieveanalyses,dependingonthematerialtobemeasured.

Throwactionsieving
Hereathrowingmotionactsonthesample.Theverticalthrowingmotionisoverlaidwithaslightcircular
motionwhichresultsindistributionofthesampleamountoverthewholesievingsurface.Theparticlesare
acceleratedintheverticaldirection(arethrownupwards).Intheairtheycarryoutfreerotationsandinteract
withtheopeningsinthemeshofthesievewhentheyfallback.Iftheparticlesaresmallerthantheopenings,
theypassthroughthesieve.Iftheyarelarger,theyarethrownupwardsagain.Therotatingmotionwhile
suspendedincreasestheprobabilitythattheparticlespresentadifferentorientationtothemeshwhentheyfall
backagain,andthusmighteventuallypassthroughthemesh.
Modernsieveshakersworkwithanelectromagneticdrivewhichmovesaspringmasssystemandtransfersthe
resultingoscillationtothesievestack.Amplitudeandsievingtimearesetdigitallyandarecontinuously
observedbyanintegratedcontrolunit.Therefore,sievingresultsarereproducibleandprecise(animportant
preconditionforasignificantanalysis).Adjustmentofparameterslikeamplitudeandsievingtimeservesto
optimizethesievingfordifferenttypesofmaterial.Thismethodisthemostcommoninthelaboratorysector.

Horizontalsieving
Inahorizontalsieveshakerthesievestackmovesinhorizontalcirclesinaplane.Horizontalsieveshakersare
preferablyusedforneedleshaped,flat,longorfibroussamples,astheirhorizontalorientationmeansthatonly
afewdisorientedparticlesenterthemeshandthesieveisnotblockedsoquickly.Thelargesievingareaenables
thesievingoflargeamountsofsample,forexampleasencounteredintheparticlesizeanalysisofconstruction
materialsandaggregates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieve_analysis

3/7

8/21/2016

SieveanalysisWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Tappingsieving
Ahorizontalcircularmotionoverliesaverticalmotionwhichiscreated
byatappingimpulse.Thesemotionalprocessesarecharacteristicof
handsievingandproduceahigherdegreeofsievingfordenserparticles
(e.g.abrasives)thanthrowactionsieveshakers.

Tappingsieving

SuperSonicsieving
Theparticlesareliftedandforciblydroppedinacolumnofoscillatingairatafrequencyofthousandsofcycles
perminute.Sonicsieversareabletohandlemuchfinerdrypowdersthanwovenmeshscreens.

Wetsieving
Mostsieveanalysesarecarriedoutdry.Buttherearesomeapplicationswhichcanonlybecarriedoutbywet
sieving.Thisisthecasewhenthesamplewhichhastobeanalysedise.g.asuspensionwhichmustnotbe
driedorwhenthesampleisaveryfinepowderwhichtendstoagglomerate(mostly<45m)inadrysieving
processthistendencywouldleadtoacloggingofthesievemeshesandthiswouldmakeafurthersieving
processimpossible.Awetsievingprocessissetuplikeadryprocess:thesievestackisclampedontothesieve
shakerandthesampleisplacedonthetopsieve.Abovethetopsieveawaterspraynozzleisplacedwhich
supportsthesievingprocessadditionallytothesievingmotion.Therinsingiscarriedoutuntiltheliquidwhich
isdischargedthroughthereceiverisclear.Sampleresiduesonthesieveshavetobedriedandweighed.Whenit
comestowetsievingitisveryimportantnottochangetosampleinitsvolume(noswelling,dissolvingor
reactionwiththeliquid).

AirCircularJetSieving
Airjetsievingmachinesareideallysuitedforveryfinepowderswhichtendtoagglomerateandcannotbe
separatedbyvibrationalsieving.Thereasonfortheeffectivenessofthissievingmethodisbasedontwo
components:Arotatingslottednozzleinsidethesievingchamberandapowerfulindustrialvacuumcleaner
whichisconnectedtothechamber.Thevacuumcleanergeneratesavacuuminsidethesievingchamberand
sucksinfreshairthroughtheslottednozzle.Whenpassingthenarrowslitofthenozzletheairstreamis
acceleratedandblownagainstthesievemesh,dispersingtheparticles.Abovethemesh,theairjetisdistributed
overthecompletesievesurfaceandissuckedinwithlowspeedthroughthesievemesh.Thusthefinerparticles
aretransportedthroughthemeshopeningsintothevacuumcleaner.

Typesofgradation
ADensegradation
Adensegradationreferstoasamplethatisapproximatelyofequalamountsofvarioussizesofaggregate.
Byhavingadensegradation,mostoftheairvoidsbetweenthematerialarefilledwithparticles.Adense
gradationwillresultinanevencurveonthegradationgraph.[5]
Narrowgradation
Alsoknownasuniformgradation,anarrowgradationisasamplethathasaggregateofapproximatelythe
samesize.Thecurveonthegradationgraphisverysteep,andoccupiesasmallrangeoftheaggregate.[4]
Gapgradation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieve_analysis

4/7

8/21/2016

SieveanalysisWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Agapgradationreferstoasamplewithverylittleaggregateinthemediumsizerange.Thisresultsin
onlycoarseandfineaggregate.Thecurveishorizontalinthemediumsizerangeonthegradation
graph.[4]
Opengradation
Anopengradationrefersanaggregatesamplewithverylittlefineaggregateparticles.Thisresultsin
manyairvoids,becausetherearenofineparticlestofillthem.Onthegradationgraph,itappearsasa
curvethatishorizontalinthesmallsizerange.[4]
Richgradation
Arichgradationreferstoasampleofaggregatewithahighproportionofparticlesofsmallsizes.[5]

Typesofsieves
Wovenwiremeshsieves
WovenwiremeshsievesareaccordingtotechnicalrequirementsofISO33101.[6]Thesesievesusuallyhave
nominalaperturerangingfrom20micrometersto3.55millimeters,withdiametersrangingfrom100to450
millimeters.
Perforatedplatesieves
PerforatedplatesievesconformtoISO33102andcanhaveroundorsquarenominalaperturesrangingfrom1
millimeterto125millimeters.[7]Thediametersofthesievesrangefrom200to450millimeters.
Americanstandardsieves
AmericanstandardsievesalsoknownasASTMsievesconformtoASTME11standard.[8]Thenominal
apertureofthesesievesrangefrom20micrometersto200millimeters,howeverthesesieveshaveonly8and
12inchdiametersizes.

Limitationsofsieveanalysis
Sieveanalysishas,ingeneral,beenusedfordecadestomonitormaterialqualitybasedonparticlesize.For
coarsematerial,sizesthatrangedownto#100mesh(150m),asieveanalysisandparticlesizedistributionis
accurateandconsistent.
However,formaterialthatisfinerthan100mesh,drysievingcanbesignificantlylessaccurate.Thisisbecause
themechanicalenergyrequiredtomakeparticlespassthroughanopeningandthesurfaceattractioneffects
betweentheparticlesthemselvesandbetweenparticlesandthescreenincreaseastheparticlesizedecreases.
Wetsieveanalysiscanbeutilizedwherethematerialanalyzedisnotaffectedbytheliquidexcepttodisperse
it.Suspendingtheparticlesinasuitableliquidtransportsfinematerialthroughthesievemuchmoreefficiently
thanshakingthedrymaterial.
Sieveanalysisassumesthatallparticlewillberound(spherical)ornearlysoandwillpassthroughthesquare
openingswhentheparticlediameterislessthanthesizeofthesquareopeninginthescreen.Forelongatedand
flatparticlesasieveanalysiswillnotyieldreliablemassbasedresults,astheparticlesizereportedwillassume
thattheparticlesarespherical,whereinfactanelongatedparticlemightpassthroughthescreenendon,but
wouldbepreventedfromdoingsoifitpresenteditselfsideon.

Properties
Gradationaffectsmanypropertiesofanaggregate.Itaffectsbulkdensity,physicalstabilityandpermeability.
Withcarefulselectionofthegradation,itispossibletoachievehighbulkdensity,highphysicalstability,and
lowpermeability.Thisisimportantbecauseinpavementdesign,aworkable,stablemixwithresistancetowater
isimportant.Withanopengradation,thebulkdensityisrelativelylow,duetothelackoffineparticles,the
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieve_analysis

5/7

8/21/2016

SieveanalysisWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

physicalstabilityismoderate,andthepermeabilityisquitehigh.Witharichgradation,thebulkdensitywill
alsobelow,thephysicalstabilityislow,andthepermeabilityisalsolow.Thegradationcanbeaffectedto
achievethedesiredpropertiesfortheparticularengineeringapplication.[5]

Engineeringapplications
Gradationisusuallyspecifiedforeachengineeringapplicationitisusedfor.Forexample,foundationsmight
onlycallforcoarseaggregates,andthereforeanopengradationisneeded.

"Sieving"withdigitalimageprocessing
Digitalimage
processingtodetermine
PSDhasnowbecome
thequickestandeasiest
methodforanalyzing
rockmasses.The
algorithmsusedto
analyzedigitalimages
andproducePSDhas
beenresearchedand
developedatthe
UniversityofArizona
since1997,andnowin
softwareofferedby
multiplecompanies
aroundtheworld.

Themethodfor
digitalimage
processingisthe
following
Imageacquisition:Usingastandarddigitalcamera,ausertakesapictureoftherocksforanalysis.Loading
imageintotheprogram:Typicallyuserfriendly,eitherthroughFileordraganddropProcessingimagewith
softwaresproprietaryalgorithm:Thesoftwareanalyzesindividualpixelsgradientandcomparestoeachofthe
neighboringpixelstodetermineboundariesbetweentherocks.Editing:Usereditstheboundariestobetter
accuracyResults:PSDisproducedbytheprogram.Theresultspageistypicallycustomizableforreporting
unitsandgraphstyle.

Realtimedatareportingofimageprocessing
Alsoavailableisrealtimedatareportingfromanydesiredlocationwithinthecomminutioncircuit.Continuous
conveyorbeltfragmentationmeasurementsinthecomminutionplantcanprovideaninstantaneoustoolfor
processcontrol.Whenplanningtheintegrationoffragmentationmeasurementinstrumentation,positionyour
cameramonitoringstationinalocationwhereyoucaneffectaprocesscontrolchangebasedupontheparticle
sizeinformationyoureceive.Forexample,theprimarycrusherproductisagoodlocationtomeasure,sinceyou
areabletocontrolthesizethatthecrusherisproducingwithslightadjustmentstothecrusherensuringthatthe
downstreamcomminutioncircuitisreceivingaconsistentproducttohelpreducevariabilityintheprocess.In
additiontothecontinuousparticlesizeanalysis,thedatabaseofbeltmaterialsizecanbeusedforsimulations
andforfurtherprocessanalysistohelpincreaseprocessefficiencyandthroughput.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieve_analysis

6/7

8/21/2016

SieveanalysisWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Seealso
Soilgradation
Automatedsievingusingphotoanalysis
Opticalgranulometry

References
1.p231in"Characterisationofbulksolids"byDonaldMcglinchey,CRCPress,2005.
2.ASTMInternationalStandardsWorldwide.(2006).ASTMC13606.http://www.astm.org/cgi
bin/SoftCart.exe/DATABASE.CART/REDLINE_PAGES/C136.htm?E+mystore
3.AASHTOTheVoiceofTransportation.T027.(2006).http://bookstore.transportation.org/item_details.aspx?ID=659
4.PavementInteractive.GradationTest.(2007).http://pavementinteractive.org/index.php?title=Gradation_Test
5.M.S.MamloukandJ.P.Zaniewski,MaterialsforCivilandConstructionEngineers,AddisonWesley,MenloPark
CA,1999
6.ISO/TC24/SC8.TestsievesTechnicalrequirementsandtestingPart1:Testsievesofmetalwirecloth.ISO
33101:2000.ISO.p.15.
7.ISO/TC24/SC8.TestsievesTechnicalrequirementsandtestingPart2:Testsievesofperforatedmetalplate.
ISO33102:2013.ISO.p.9.
8.Subcommittee:E29.01.StandardSpecificationforWovenWireTestSieveClothandTestSieves.ASTME1113.
ASTMInternational,.p.9.

Externallinks
TheBasicPrinciplesofSieveAnalysis(http://www.retsch.com/products/sieving/dlDetails/1/file/5930/?L
=)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sieve_analysis&oldid=733126192"
Categories: Chemicalengineering Sedimentology Soiltests Particletechnology
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon5August2016,at15:18.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmay
apply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisaregistered
trademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sieve_analysis

7/7