Experiment No. 2.

1
Sand Control Test: AFS Grain Fineness number

AIM –To Determine the AFS Fineness number of the given sand specimen.

Sand:
Granular particles of sand that is SiO2 principally comprises of 50 to 95% of total
material in moulding sand. In different moulding sands, these sand particles may differ in the
following ways,
1. Average grain size, grain size distribution and grain shape
2. Chemical Composition
3. Refractoriness and thermal stability
Of all these factors Average grain size, grain size distribution and grain shape is one of the
important factor on which various properties of moulding sand depend.

The way through which the average grain size of sand and grain size distribution is measured
is through AFS fineness number.
Typical sand grain shapes are,
a. Compound grains
b. Rounded grains
c. Angular sand grains.
d. Sub-angular sand grains

THEORY –
The Fineness test determines --
1. Grain Size
2. Distribution of Grains
3. Grain fineness
Sands used for moulding purposes can be classified according to their grain size and grain
shape. Shape and size of grains determine its “Specific Surface” which may be defined as the
total surface area of grains contained in unit mass. Specific surface gives a rough idea as
regards the amount of binder needed to coat the grains.
The effect of average grain size and grain size distribution on properties of moulding sand –
 The grain size and distribution influence surface fineness, permeability, flowability,
refractoriness and strengths.
 Fine grained sands have good surface fineness but low permeability.
 With coarser grains, permeability, flow ability and refractoriness improve. However,
for same clay content, green strength is higher for fine sands.
 In addition to average grain size, the grain size distribution has a pronounced effect on
permeability. Sand with many fines and wide range of particle size will have a low
permeability when compared with one of the same average fineness but having only
one size of grains present.
 Refractoriness, i.e. highest fusion point seems to be obtained in those sand grains of
maximum purity and size. Washed and dried white silica sand of AFS number 30 to
45 are regarded as having highest refractoriness with a fusion point above 3000 F.
Finer grains appear to be more easily fused than coarser grains.
 Normally, foundry grade sands possess grain size of the order of 0.1 to 1 mm.
 Fine grained sands are used for ornamental castings, intricate castings while coarse
grained sands are preferred for large castings.

AFS SIEVE ANALYSIS --

By definition, the AFS (American Foundry men’s Society) grain fineness number is
the average grain size and it corresponds to the sieve number whose openings would just pass
all the sand grains if all were of same size.
The apparatus required for determining grain fineness consists of a number of
standard sieves mounted one above another on a power driven shaker. It vibrates the sieves
and sand placed on top sieve, gets screened and collects on different sieves depending upon
the various size of grains present in the sand. There are eleven standard sieves mounted and
at the bottom, a pan is placed. Uppermost sieve is coarsest while bottommost is the finest. It
is essentially a descending order as per hole size of respective sieves.
A dried 50gm sample, out of which clay has been removed, is placed in uppermost
sieve. The stand is shaken for 15mins. After 15mins, sand retained on each sieve and bottom
pan is weighed and its percentage of the total sample determined. A distribution curve
showing total percent obtained which is coarser than any particular screen may be plotted.
Secondly, the average fineness number can be computed. For this, each percentage is
multiplied by a factor. The resulting products are added and divided total percentage of sand
retained.
AFS fineness number is a convenient means of describing the relative fineness of
sands. Foundry sands usually fall in the range 150-400 µm with 220-250 µm being the most
commonly used. This corresponds to a fineness number of about 60. An approximate relation
can be tabulated as---

AFS
FINENESS 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 80 90
No.
AVERAG
E GRAIN 390 340 300 280 240 220 210 170 150
SIZE (um)

Most sand properties depend upon the size distribution as well as the average size. The
fineness test makes possible the evaluation of both factors.

OBSERVATION TABLE –
 Sr. Sieve Amt. of 50gm sample Multiplying Product
No. no. Retained on sieve Factor
Grams Percent
1 12 0.022 0.044 5 0.22
2 20 0.149 0.298 10 2.98
3 30 0.362 0.724 20 14.48
4 40 8.876 17.752 30 532.56
5 50 6.1 12.2 40 488
6 70 13.712 27.424 50 1371.2
7 100 9.159 18.318 70 1282.26
8 140 9.117 18.234 100 1823.4
9 270 1.818 3.636 200 727.2
10 Pan 0 0 300 0
Total 49.81 98.63% 6242.3

Calculation:
AFS Grain fineness number= Sum of products / Total sum of the percentages of
sand retained on pan and each sieve
= 6242.3/98.63
=63.29

Average grain size (as in the graph)=0.21 mm=210 µm

Hence, the AFS fineness number (from chart)=65 AFS fineness

Conclusion:
Green sand has AFS fineness number =65
98.63% sand is retained within the sieve stand. The smallest particle that passed the sieve
stand is of the size nearly 0.053 mm
Laboratory Sand Sieve Analyser(AFS Grain fineness)