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TITLE: Sand Testing Preparation (GFN)

2. OBJECTIVES: 2.1.To measure the sand grain size and calculate the Grain Fineness Number (GFN). 2.2.To understand the advantages and disadvantages of sieve analysis and its applications. 2.3.To study the causes of different value of GFN in the casting processes. 2.4.To enhanced knowledge about suitability of the sand for castings. 2.5.To study the necessary precaution needed for this experiment.

3. INTRODUCTION: A system has been developed to rapidly express the average grain size of a given and sample. The Grain Fineness Number (GFN) is the quantitative indication of the grain size distribution of the sand sample by carrying out a sand sieve analysis. GFN is important because it provides the foundry a way to verify that its sand is within specification for the castings being produced and helps avoid conditions that could lead to potential casting problems. Sand that is too fine (higher GFN) or too coarse (lower GFN) can affect the quality of castings produced. Sand that is too fine can create low permeability and result in casting gas defects. Sand with high permeability (too coarse) can create problems with metal penetration, rough surface finish, burn-in and burn-on. The grain fineness of sand is measured using a test called Sieve Analysis. A sieve analysis is a practice or procedure used to assess the particle size distribution of a granular material. Sand sieve analysis is a method for determining the grain size distribution of particles typically between 1.0mm and 0.062mm. It is a relative accurate method for determining depositional hydrology and for refining sedimentary environments. With experience, most geologists can visually measure grain size within accuracy of the Wentworth grade scale at least down to silt grade. Silt and clay can be differentiated by whether they are crunchy or plastic between ones teeth. Clay stones and siltstones are not amenable to size analysis from an optical microscope. Their particle size can be measured individually by electron microscope analysis. Boulder, cobbles, and gravel are best measured manually with a tape measure or ruler. Sands are most generally measured by sieving. Both graphic and statistical methods of data presentation have been developed for the interpretation of sieve data. The percentage of the samples in each class can be shown
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graphically in bar charts or histogram. Another method of graphic display is the cumulative curve or cumulative arithmetic curve. Cumulative curves are extremely useful because many sample curves can be plotted on the same graph and differences in sorting are at once apparent. The closer a curve approaches the vertical the better sorted it is, as a major percentage of sediment occurs in one class. Significant percentages of coarse and fine end-members show up as horizontal limbs at the ends of the curve.

Figure 3.1: Example of Graphical Interpretation of Sieve Data

The four statistical measurements for sieved samples consist of a measure of central tendency (including median, mode, and mean); a measure of the degree of scatter or sorting; kurtosis, the degree of peakedness; and skewness, the lop-sidedness of the curve. Various formulae have been defined for these parameters.

Figure 3.2: Skewness Analysis

Within geology accurate sieve analyses are required for petrophysical studies which relate sand texture to porosity and permeability. The distribution of sediment for water wells also requires a detailed knowledge of the sediment of aquifers. Sieve analysis data can be used as an interpretive tool to determine the depositional environment of ancient
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sediments. The philosophy behind this approach is that modern environments mold the distribution of sediment and these differences can be quantitatively distinguished. Thus, by comparing the sieve analysis data from modern depositional environments with samples from the geologic past the depositional environment for these ancient samples can be determined. The size distribution is often of critical importance to the way the material performs in use. A representative sample of the sand is weighed and passed through a series of progressively finer sieves (screens) while being agitated for a 15-min test cycle. The sand retained on each screen is weighed and the weights are recorded. The weight retained on each sieve is divided by the total sample weight to arrive at the percent retained on each screen. In economics, a numerical coefficient showing the effect of a change in one economic variable on another. One macroeconomic multiplier, the autonomous expenditures multiplier, relates the impact of a change in total national investment on the nation's total , for that particular screen and these values then are added together to find the GFN of the sand (Table 1). The factors for the sieves are based on the fact that the sand that is retained on a particular sieve such as 50 mesh is not all 50 mesh in size, but rather it is smaller than 40 mesh (passed through 40 mesh screen), but larger than 50 mesh (won't pass through 50 mesh screen). The result should be rounded to one decimal place decimal place. The position of a digit to the right of a decimal point, usually identified by successive ascending ordinal numbers with the digit immediately to the right of the decimal point being first. This number is the weighted mathematical average of the particle size particle size, also called grain size, refers to the diameter of individual grains of sediment, or the lithified particles in clastic rocks. After performing the sieve analysis test, the distribution of sand grains on the screens can be just as significant as GFN. The distribution refers to how much is retained on each sieve, rather than the average of all of the sieves. Formula below used to calculate Grain Size Fineness;

F GFN = C X 1

4. APPARATUS:

Sieves

Sieve Pan Sieve Shaker

Figure 4.1: Set of Sieves and Sieve Shaker

Container

Hand Brushes

Digital Scale Balance

Silica Sand

Figure 4.2: Apparatus and Materials

4.1.Materials Silica Sand, 4.2.Equipment 1 set of 9 sieves (53,75,106,150,212,300,425,600,850) plus the sieve pan, Sieve Shaker, Digital Scale Balance 4.3.Hand Tools Brush
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5. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE: i. The screens on the sieves wan clean carefully by turning the sieves face down and striking the rim evenly on the table. The screen must not touch with fingers. The sieves should not beat hard to avoid damage on the rim. ii. The sand sample was weight 100 grams to accuracy of 0.01 grams.
Figure 5.1: A student weighed the silica sand

iii. The stack of sieves was placed on the Sieve Shaker Octagon 2000 machine. The top sieve of the sieves shaker contains the bigger mesh size which is 850.
Figure 5.2: Put the sieves on the Sieve Shaker

iv. The weighing sand sample was poured into the top sieve of the sieve s shaker.
Figure 5.3: Pour the sand

v. The sieves were shaken continuously for a period of 15 minutes. vi. After the shaking operations, the top sieve was taken apart and left over sand of the sieves was wiped using brush and carefully weighed. The weight was recorded in column C of Table 1.

Figure 5.4: Take apart the left over sand

vii. Step VI was repeated until the left over sand in the last sieve was weighed and the value was recorded. viii. The Grain Fineness Number (GFN) was calculated using the formula below; F GFN = C X 1

6. RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS:

Table 1: Sieve Analysis Data and Calculations A No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 70 100 140 200 270 PAN B Opening (Mic) 850 600 425 300 212 150 106 75 53 C D E AFS Multiplier 10 20 30 40 50 70 100 145 200 300 F AFS Product (C x E) 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.20 258.00 2459.10 2262.00 2324.35 1606.00 414.00 F = 10424.65

Sand Mass Sample (g) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.03 5.16 35.13 33.62 16.03 8.03 1.38 C = 99.38 100 (%) 0 0 0 0.03 5.19 35.35 33.83 16.13 8.08 1.39 100%

Total accumulated sand mass (g) Original mass of sample before Sieving (g)

Calculation; F GFN = C 10424.65 = 99.38 = 104.89 X 1 X 1

Table 2: Percentage of Mass Retained in Each Sieve PERCENTAGE OF MASS RETAINED IN SIEVE (%)
0 0 0 0.03 5.19 35.35 33.83 16.13 8.08 1.39

CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGE OF MASS LEFT IN SIEVE (%)

0 0 0 1.39 9.47 25.6 59.43 94.78 99.97 100

SIEVE NUMBER

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

TOTAL =

100

100

Plotting the graph; a. Graph between sieve numbers and percentage of mass retained in each sieve.
Sieve Number versus Percentage of Mass Retained
40

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Percenatge of Mass Retained (%)

30

25

20

15

10

0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Sieve Number

b. Graph between sieve numbers and cumulative percentage of mass left in sieve.
Sieve Numbers versus Cumulative Percentage of Mass Left
110 100

Cumulative Percentage of Mass Left

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Sieve Numbers

7. DISCUSSION:

From the experiment, the value of GFN we get for the sand silica sample in sieve analysis is 104.89. The GFN value is very high. So, the silica sand sample has fine grain since the value of GFN is above 100. The total accumulated mass of the sand sample is only 99.38g. It is slightly different from the mass we were weighed before the sieve testing. The early sand mass before sieve shaking is 100g. The different is about 0.62g. There are different in the mass value of the sand because some errors occur during the testing. Student did not wipe all the left over sand in each sieve and error also occur during reading the value at digital balancing scale. The environment condition also will influence the reading of the result. The digital balancing scale is the sensitive instrument, so it must be carefully handle to avoid the error from occur. We have plotted graph of sieve numbers versus the percentage of mass retained in each sieve from the data calculated. The graph is a quadratic graph. We can say that the value of sand mass retained in each sieve has greater increase for a moment before decrease until the last sieve. From the graph, we can see that the percentage of mass is higher at the middle sieve. But, at the sieve number 1 until 3, there is no percentage of left over sand. Then, we also plot graph of sieve number versus the cumulative percentage of the sand mass retained in the sieves. From the data interpreted, we got a sinusoidal graph. The sand mass value is increase with the increasing in the sieve number. However, there are some constants values at the early and final stage of the graph. In this experiment, there are several precaution we must take to avoid and prevent errors from occur. The screen on the sieves should be clean carefully in order to remove all grain sands. The stack of sieves on the Sieve Shaker must be locked tidily to avoid them from moving away during shaking process. Student should make sure that all the left over sand in each sieve is transferred to the container use in weighing process. We also must clean the area around digital scale balance to get accurate readings and avoid the environmental effects. Student also can use a soft bristle brush to gently wipe the screen.

i) Explain briefly what is GFN? GFN or Grain Fineness Number is a system developed by AFS for rapidly expressing the average grain size of given sand. It approximates the number of meshes per inch of that sieve that would just pass the sample if its grains of uniform size. It is approximately proportional to the surface area per unit of weight of sand, exclusive of
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clay. For the different value of GFN will be used for different applications (e.g. 40: large casting, 70: small casting, 100: non-ferrous alloy cast, 150: aluminium alloy casting). GFN as known as the grain fineness number is quantitative indication of the grain size and grain size distribution ii) Based on GFN value and the distribution obtained, suggest the suitability of the sand for castings. The quality of castings produced depends largely upon the properties of the sand utilized. To ensure good castings, the sand must satisfy specifications: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Refractoriness. Bond strength. Permeability. Collapsibility Grain fineness and size Grain shape and roundness

The sand which is suitable for casting should has good strength to avoid the mould from broken during the process. It also has high refractoriness to withstand the high temperature of the molten metal. The sand also must have good permeability. The sand must be porous so that the gases generated are allowed to escape. Size of the sand and its shape its depend on the materials and casting process. The small size provide better surface finish but the large grain size is more permeable. The sand should have good thermal conductivity, so that the heat from casting is quickly transferred.

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8. CONCLUSION: From this experiment, we found that the value of the GFN of the silica sand specimen by using sieve analysis is 104.89. The sand sample used in this experiment is too fine since we got the higher value of GFN. However some errors occur during this experiment. The total accumulates sand mass is differ from original mass which is 99.38 while the original mass is 100g. We must take some precaution in order to get the accurate data in this experiment and avoid the errors. As conclusion, this experiment has achieved its objective which is to measure the grain size of silica sand sample and calculate the value of GFN.

9. RECOMMENDATION: i. The screen on the sieves should be clean carefully in order to remove all grain sands. ii. iii. iv. Do not touch the sieves screen with the fingers. Avoid beat the sieves hard to prevent it from damage. The stack of sieves on the Sieve Shaker must be locked tidily to avoid them from moving away during shaking process. v. Make sure that all the left over sand in each sieve is transferred to the container use in weighing process. vi. Clean the area around digital scale balance to get accurate readings and avoid the environmental effects. vii. Use a soft bristle brush to gently wipe the screen.

10. REFERENCES: i. Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid, Manufacturing Technology and Fundamental, 5th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2004. ii. Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid, Manufacturing Processes for Engineering Materials, 4th Edition, Illinois Institute Of Technology, Prentice Hall, 2003. iii. iv. v. http://www.wikipedia.com/foundry_sand_testing http://www.engnet/glossary_GFN http://www.sfsa.org/sfsa/glossary/deftrmgg.html

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