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Experiment No. 8

Sieve Analysis

Queenie Gene D. Gadong

Date Performed: March 7, 2012

Date Submitted: March 19, 2012

I. IntroductionA simplistic definition of sieving is the separation of fine material from coarse material by means

of a meshed or perforated vessel (Advantech Mfg., 2001). In other words, a certain material is strained to

separate the finer from the coarser particles or to reduce the said material to a finer consistency. A mesh

or sieve is the screening medium with openings of uniform size and shape made of woven, punched or

electrodeposited material.FIGURE1 shows a set of sieves similar to the one used in the experiment.

Sieving is actually one of the oldest methods of classifying powders and granules by particle size

distribution.

Sieve analysis determines the gradation or distribution of aggregate particle sizes within a givensample (WAQTC, 2011). A particle size distribution analysis is a measurement designed to determine and

report information about the size and range of a set of particles representative of a material (Particle

Technology Labs, 2011).

For the calculations, the total mass of the material after sieving, for both coarse and fine portions

should check closely with the original mass of sample placed on the sieves (WAQTC, 2011).The percent

retained is obtained by dividing the original weight of the sample by the weight retained in each sieve and

multiplied by 100 or

The cumulative weight is calculated by subtracting the weight retained on largest mesh size from

the original weight of the sample or by subtracting the weight retained on the succeeding smaller mesh

size from the cumulative weight passing on the preceding larger mesh size,

or

The cumulative % passing is calculated by dividing the original weight of the sample by each of the

cumulative weights then multiplying by 100

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II. MethodologyThe two groups should use the same material, and the sample used was 250g rice. The sample

was then grinded with the use of a blender for a short period of time such that the end, there was a good

mix of fine and coarse materials. After grinding, the sample was transferred into stainless tray wherein the

sample spread thinly. The sample was then dried for 1hour in a cabinet dryer at 103C and cooled in a

desiccator after the said time period. The empty bottom pan was weighed and recorded accordingly. Theset of sieves was nested in the order of decreasing size of opening from top to bottom. The cooled sample

was then placed on the top sieve. The sieves were then manually agitated by using the tapping method for

a sufficient period so that after completion, not more than one percent by weight of the residue on any

individual sieve passed that sieve during 60 seconds of continuous manual or hand sieving. In the case of

larger particles, the material was limited on the sieve to a single layer of particles. The weight of each size

increment was then determined by weighing the residue contained on each sieve. The addition of the next

larger particles was continued until the final weight obtained was the original weight of the material that

was used in the test. The cumulative percentage passing (ordinate) versus the sieve opening or mesh size

(abscissa) was then plotted and the plot was interpreted and discussed.

III. ResultsTABLE1. The calculated values of the weight retained,% retained, cumulative weight passing, and

cumulative % passing.

SIEVE SIZE

% RETAINED

CUMULATIVE

WEIGHT PASSING (g)

CUMULATIVE %

PASSINGMESH No.

MESH SIZE

(m)

10 2000 0.668 248.33 99.332

35 500 58.368 104.08 41.632

60 250 19.736 200.66 80.264

80 180 6.764 233.09 93.236

120 125 4.412 238.97 95.588

140 106 0.536 248.66 99.464

200 75 0.052 249.87 99.948

230 63 0.00732 249.9817 99.99268

FIGURE2. A plot of cumulative % passing vs. the mesh size

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

CUMULATIVE%

PASSING

MESH SIZE (m)

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IV. DiscussionThe characteristics of the rice grain sample used in this experiment now can be described according to

its particle size distribution. From the calculated results (TABLE1), it can be noted that almost all of the

particles of the rice grain sample passed through the largest mesh size (2000m), with only 1.67g or

0.668 % of the original 250 g rice grain sample retained on largest mesh size. Thus, the largest particles

can be said to be over 2000m. Moreover, again basing on TABLE1, majority of the particles of the ricegrain sample were retained on the 500m mesh size. Meaning, a large quantity of particles (145.92g or

58.37% of the original 200 g) were larger than 500m but less than2000m.TABLE1 also shows the

cumulative weight passing and the cumulative % passing which presents the amount or percentage of

particles passing a certain mesh size.

The plot on FIGURE1 shows cumulative % passing versus the mesh size. The plot shows the

distribution of the particles through the percentage of particles passing a certain mesh size. From the plot,

it can be observed that a large percentage of particles passed through the 2000m mesh.

The particle size therefore of the rice grain sample used in this experiment is mostly smaller than

2000m (with 78.85 cumulative % passing).

V. ConclusionAs a conclusion, sieving is a process which only measures the amount of particles within a

specific mesh size. It does not accurately measure the exact size (in terms of diameter, perhaps) of each of

the particles of the said sample material. It therefore only gives a set of ranges for the sizes of the particles

of a material. From the results of this experiment, a large quantity of materials were smaller than 2000m.

VI. References Advantech Mfg., 2001, Test Sieving: Principles and Procedures, viewed 22 February 2012,

Particle Technology Labs, 2011, Particle Size Distribution Analyses, viewed 22 February 2012,

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VII. Annex1. Raw Data

WEIGHT OF RICE GRAIN SAMPLE = 250g

WEIGHT OF RICE GRAIN SAMPLE AFTER DRYING = 230.7379

WEIGHT OF WATER REMOVED = 250-230.7379g = 19.2621 g

TABLE2. Raw Data

MESH NO. MESH SIZE (M) WEIGHT RETAINED (g)

10 2000 1.67

35 500 145.92

60 250 49.34

80 180 16.91

120 125 11.03

140 106 1.34

200 75 0.13230 63 0.0183

2. Sample Calculations % RETAINED

CUMULATIVE WEIGHT PASSING

Or

.

CUMULATIVE % PASSING