Institute of Space Technology

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Ceramics lab (211409)
Lab Report # 1
Section: MAT-13A

Submitted to Engr. Luqman Hashmi

Submitted by Group#5
Nawal Haider 200301055
Hassan Nadeem 200301054
Maaz Hassan 200301056
Rafay uz Zaman 200301052
Hamdan ur Rehman 200301050

Date of Experiment 14th March,2022

Date of Submission 16th March, 2022
 Table of Contents
Summary: ...................................................................................................................3
Introduction: ...............................................................................................................3
Experimental Procedure: ............................................................................................4
Results and Discussions: ............................................................................................5
Table of Observations: ................................................................................................................ 5
Graph: ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Discussions: ................................................................................................................................ 6
Uncertainty: ................................................................................................................7
Conclusion: ................................................................................................................7
References: .................................................................................................................8
 Sieve Analysis: Particle Size Distribution

Summary:

In this analysis, we start by taking certain amount of sand and place it on the top of the nested sieve

(the top sieve is placed in a such a way that it contains the largest screen opening and as we move

down the screen opening size decreases so the bottom sieve will have the smallest screen opening

size ) then it is shaken by some mechanical means for a fixed time, after this we weight each sieve

one by one and check the weight of retained material in the respective sieves. After that, we check

the weight of the material in the first sieve and then add the material in a pan then we check the

weight the material retained in second sieve and again add the material in pan. This process is

repeated until all the sieves are ended and at the end, we weight the total material which is present

in the pan (it should be equal to the amount of material we took initially).

Introduction:

Sieve analysis is a technique for assessing a material's particle size distribution. The process

separates fine particles from coarse particles by passing the material through a succession of sieves

with different mesh sizes. This allows for the determination of the mass fraction of particles within

each size range as well as the building of a cumulative mass distribution. The substance under

investigation is vibrated through a series of diminishing sieves in a single or combination

horizontal, vertical, or rotational motion. Particles in motion will eventually organize themselves

to provide the mesh aperture of the sieve their two smallest dimensions and pass to the next sieve

with a smaller nominal opening. Following the completion of the sieving method, the weight of

the sieves is analyzed and compared to the weight of the sieves prior to the addition of the sample.

This indicates how much material is on each filter. By accumulating the mass fraction on each
sieve, from the smallest to the largest sieve size, a cumulative mass distribution of the test sample

may be derived. [1]

There are several methods for determining the particle size distribution of powders. A single

measuring methodology cannot be applied to the large size range covered, which ranges from

nanometers to millimeters. This is in addition to the normal limits of capital expenditures against

operating expenses, speed of operation, degree of expertise required, and, most importantly, end-

use requirement. The measured results should be equal if the particle-size distribution of a powder

made of hard, smooth spheres is tested using any of the approaches. However, for any powder

composed of non-spherical particles, there are several size distributions that may be specified.

There are other methods such as Laser Diffraction, Dynamic Light Scattering, and other advanced

methods for determining the particle size distribution, yet the sieve analysis is the simplest

technique applied.[2]

Experimental Procedure:

In this experiment we are taking a sample of sand which is weighted and found to be 500g, now

prepare a group of sieves of different screen opening sizes to separate particles of different sizes

then stack the test sieves in a correct order(the largest opening size at the top and smallest size at

the bottom sieve) after that pour the sample into the top sieve and fix the timer of the machine to

5 min and switch on the shaker which will consequently result in hitting the particles with some

mechanical means which would cause different particles of different sizes to separate from each

other and collect in their respective screen opening size sieve, after this phenomena the total

particles are collected in a small pan which could weighted easily and you can measure the mass

of each shaker and retained material, the minimum sized sieve is 100-mesh, and the maximum

sized sieve is 400-mesh.

 Figure 1sieve analysis apparatus

Results and Discussions:

Total mass of the sample taken = 500 grams

After performing the experiment, we have obtained the following set of data.

Table of Observations:

Sieve no. Opening(mm) Mass Retained Percent Mass Percent Refiner

Retained (%) %

100 0.150 465g 93 7

140 0.106 20.5 4.1 2.9

150 0.105 0g 0 2.9

200 0.075 7.1g 1.42 1.48

270 0.053 2.8g 0.56 0.92

325 0.045 1.0g 0.2 0.72

 400 0.038 0.5g 0.1 0.62

PAN 1.8g 0.36 0.26

Total =499g Total=99.74%

approx.

Graph:

Particle Size Distribution

8
7
6

Percent Finer
5
4
3
2
1
0
1 0.1 0.01
Particle Size

Discussions:

According to the graph plotted above, as the sieve opening decreases, the percentage of particles

passing the sieves decreases. As the sieves are nested in ascending order, the particles passing

them become finer and because of that the slope of the graph is moving continuously downward.

The higher is the sieve number, the lower is the percent finer and so the smaller particle size.

Also, here we are using log scale for representing the particle size because we know that in sieve

analysis, we are taking data from the powder particles which are refined step by step and there is

a great dispersion in the gathered data and hence to avoid skewness we are using log scale.
Uncertainty:

We have 500g sample in weight which we use for particle size distribution. There are some

uncertainties which could lead us to error. When we determine weight for 500g, we are not sure

whether it will be the same as it is in powder form, and we can have either 499g or 501g. When

we put sample in sieves, some particles will stick into its holes which reduces mass. During

shaking, particles collide with each other which could cause particles size reduction, and this leads

to errors in estimation. Sometimes, the person can use brushes in order to save time, but this can

force some big particles to pass the sieve. And this also leads to uncertainty in the final results.

Sieve analysis may not be able to provide sufficient good resolution for a sample with a narrow

distribution due to the limited range of mesh sizes available. Through sieve analysis, no more

particle shape information is available until the particles are subsequently studied using other

measurement methods.[4]

Conclusion:

Sieve analysis is also known as grain size analysis because it is used to differentiate between

particles of different sizes, and it usually classifies particles into different groups with different

mechanical properties. Determining the particle size is important in Manufacturing of ceramics

because they are usually manufactured by powder processing techniques. The differences in the

particle size can lead to higher porosity, poor compaction etc., and this has the direct impact on

the properties of ceramics. For example, if we are working in a construction site then small sand

particles and gravels are used for different applications because they have different mechanical

properties and bigger sand particles are used for different applications like strength wear-resistance

etc.
We have learnt to separate coarse and fine particles with the help of this technique and we can

relate the behavior of different size particles by plotting the appropriate graph using the data

collected, this method is an old method but it is still used in many laboratories because of its

efficiency, we can apply this method in the field of engineering whenever we are needed to

separate particle sizes especially while manufacturing of ceramics and can also be helpful in

construction of bridges and roads etc.

References:

[1]U. A.Hashmi, “(PDF) PARTICLE-SIZE ANALYSIS Particle-Size Distribution | Usman Ali

Hashmi - Academia.edu,” (PDF) PARTICLE-SIZE ANALYSIS Particle-Size Distribution | Usman
Ali Hashmi - Academia.edu.
https://www.academia.edu/8421685/PARTICLE_SIZE_ANALYSIS_Particle_Size_Distribution
(accessed Mar. 13, 2022).

[2]“Determination of ‘average particle size’ from the screen-analysis of non-uniform particulate

substances - ScienceDirect,” Determination of “average particle size” from the screen-analysis of
non-uniform particulate substances - ScienceDirect, Sep. 29, 2003.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016003233901374 (accessed Mar. 13,
2022).

[3]“Sci-Hub | Determination of ‘average particle size’ from the screen-analysis of non-uniform

particulate substances. Journal of the Franklin Institute, 215(1), 27–37 | 10.1016/s0016-
0032(33)90137-4,” Sci-Hub | Determination of “average particle size” from the screen-analysis
of non-uniform particulate substances. Journal of the Franklin Institute, 215(1), 27–37 |
10.1016/s0016-0032(33)90137-4. https://sci-hub.ru/https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-
0032(33)90137-4 (accessed Mar. 13, 2022).

[4]Editor, “Sieve Analysis – Particle size analysis procedure - Basic Civil Engineering,” Basic
Civil Engineering, May 22, 2017. https://basiccivilengineering.com/2017/06/sieve-analysis-
test.html (accessed Mar. 13, 2022).