Department of petrochemical

College of technical engineering

Practical unit operation lab

3th year level

Name of Student : Maten Nasradin Dawid

Class : B
Experiment name : sieve analysis of sand
No.of Experiment : 1
Experiment contacted date : 20/10/2020
Report submitted date :27/10/2020

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Porpose :
This test is performed to determine the percentage of different grain
sizes contained within a sand. The mechanical or sieve analysis is
performed to determine the distribution of the coarser, larger-sized
particles

Introduction :

A sieve analysis (or gradation test) is a practice or procedure used

(commonly used in Civil Engineering) to assess the particle size
distribution (also called gradation) of a granular material. The size
distribution is often of critical importance to the way the material
performs in use. 2 Introduction (cont’d) A sieve analysis can be
performed on any type of non-organic or organic granular materials
including sands, crushed rock, clays, granite, feldspars, coal, soil, a
wide range of manufactured powders, grain and seeds, down to a
minimum size depending on the exact method. Being such a simple
technique of particle sizing, it is probably the most common used in
practice.

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Apparatus :

 Sieve brushes
 ASTM test sieves
 Sieve shakers
 Balance
 Sample of sand

Procedure :

 Write down the weight of each sieve as well as the bottom pan to be used
in the analysis.
 Record the weight of the given dry sand sample.
 Make sure that all the sieves are clean, and assemble them in the
ascending order of sieve numbers (#4 sieve at top and #200 sieve at
bottom). Place the pan below #200 sieve. Carefully pour the sand sample
into the top sieve and place the cap over it.
 Place the sieve stack in the mechanical shaker and shake for 10 minutes.
 Remove the stack from the shaker and carefully weigh and record the
weight of each sieve with its retained sand. In addition, remember to
weigh and record the weight of the bottom pan with its retained fine sand.

Calculation and results :

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 Sieve Diameter Mass Mass of Soil Percent Percent
Numbe (mm) of Sieve+Soil Retaine Retained Passing
r Empty Retained d (g)
Sieve (g)
(g)
1 4.75 563.2 611 47.8 8 92

2 1.18 518 677 159 26.5 65.5

3 600 486 537.32 51.32 8.6 56.9

4 300 329.1 441 111.9 18.7 38.2

5 150 402 557 155 25.8 12.4

6 0 472.45 547.1 74.65 12.4 0

Exp . mass retained for sieve no. 1 is 47.8g

Total mass = 599.7 g
% retained =mass retained of sieve/total mass ×100=47.8/599.7×100=8%
% passing = 100 - ∑%retained =100 – 8 =92

For sieve no. 2 mass retained =159

% retained =159/599.7 ×100= 26.5 %
% passing = 92 – 26.5 = 65.5
Ect…

Wt = 599.7g

Discussion and conclusion :

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Q.1: What is meant by the nest of sieves?

Ans: The stack sieves are called a nest of sieves.

Q.2: What is meant by the size of a sieve or number of the sieve?

Ans: Sieve number or size means the number of openings per linear inch in a
sieve.

Q.3: How much shaking period is recommended for sieve analysis of soil?

Ans: 10 minutes of shaking is recommended.

Sieve analysis is one type of mechanical analysis which determines the size
range of particles present in a sand, expressed as a percentage of the total dry
weight or mass. Sieve analysis consists of shaking the sand sample through a set
of sieves that have progressively smaller openings. The results of sieve analysis
are generally expressed as the percentage of total weight of soil that passed
through different sieve. From the results, the total mass sample after sieving is
smaller than the total mass before sieving where 0.3 g of soil is missing. This is
probably because the small particles of soil is missing during the sieves are
being vibrated. Therefore, the total mass is corrected by adding the mass
retained with the corrected mass of sand.

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