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Australian Standard

Test sieving procedures

AS 3638—1993
 This Australian Standard was prepared by Committee CH/32, Particle Size Analysis.
It was approved on behalf of the Council of Standards Australia on 29 October 1992
and published on 13 April 1993.

The following interests are represented on Committee CH/32:

Australian Mining Industry Council
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National Association of Testing Authorities

National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
The Royal Australian Chemical Institute
The University of New South Wales
Vic Roads

Review of Australian Standards. To keep abreast of progress in industry, Australian Standards are subject
to periodic review and are kept up to date by the issue of amendments or new editi ons as necessary. It is
important therefore that Standards users ensure that they are in possession of the latest edit ion, and any
amendments thereto.
Full detail s of all Australian Standards and related publi cati ons wil l be found in the Standards Australi a
Catalogue of Publications; this information is supplemented each month by the magazine ‘The Australian
Standard’, which subscribing members receive, and which gives detail s of new publi cati ons, new edit ions
and amendments, and of withdrawn Standards.
Suggesti ons for improvements to Australi an Standards, addressed to the head off ice of Standards Australi a,
are welcomed. Noti fi cati on of any inaccuracy or ambiguity found in an Australian Standard should be made
without delay in order that the matter may be investigated and appropriate action taken.

This Standard was issued in draft form for comment as DR 87079.

 AS 3638—1993

Australian Standard
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Test sieving procedures

First publi shed as AS 3638 — 1993.

PUBLISHED BY STANDARDS AUSTRALIA

(STANDARDS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA)
1 THE CRESCENT, HOMEBUSH, NSW 2140
ISBN 0 7262 7942 0
 AS 3638—1993 2

PREFACE

This Standard was prepared by the Standards Australia Committee on Particle Size Analysis under the
direction of the Multitechnics Standards Policy Board, at the request of the National Association of
Testing Authorities, Australia.
The Standard is technically equivalent to ISO 2591-1:1988 Test sieving, Part 1: Methods using test
sieves of woven wire cloth and perforated metal plate. Some editorial changes have been made to
comply with Standards Australia’s procedures.
For the purpose of this Standard, it is assumed that the test sieves comply with the requirements of
AS 1152, Test sieves; the results will therefore depend mainly on the properties and condition of the
material under test and the procedure adopted.

CONTENTS
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Page
FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... .. . . ... . . .... . . .. ... . . 3
1 SCOPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... .. . . .. .. . ... .. . .. ... . . 4
2 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ..... .. . . .... . ..... . .. . .. . . 4
3 DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... .. . . ... . . .. .. . . .. ... . . 4
4 PRINCIPLES OF SIEVING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... .. .. . . .... . ..... . . . ... . . 5
5 MATERIALS TO BE TEST SIEVED . . . . . . . . . .. ..... .. . . . ... . ..... . .. ... . . 5
6 SAMPLING OF MATERIALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ..... .. . . .... . ..... . .. . .. . . 6
7 APPARATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... .. . . .. .. . . .. .. . . . ... . . 7
8 PREPARATION AND MAINTENANCE OF TEST SIEVES .. . . .. .. . .. ... . . . ... . . 7
9 TEST PROCEDURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... .. . . .... . .. ... . .. ... . . 8
10 DRY SIEVING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... .. . . ... . . .. .. . . .. ... . 11
11 WET SIEVING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....... .. . . ... . . .. .. . . .. ... . 13
12 COMBINED WET AND DRY SIEVING . . . . . . . .. .. ... .. . . ... . . ..... . .. ... . 14
13 EVALUATION OF RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ..... .. . . .... . ..... . .. . .. . 16
14 PRESENTATION OF RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . .... ... .. . . .... . ..... . .. ... . 17

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exclusively in-house by purchasers of the Standard without payment of a royalty or advice to Standards Austr alia.
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payment provided such programs are used exclusively in-house by the creators of the programs.
Care should be taken to ensure that material used is fr om the current editi on of the Standard and that it is updated whenever the
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 3 AS 3638—1993

FOREWORD

Sieving tests are used in many industries; they are performed on a wide variety of
materials and for different purposes. No single method of sieve analysis can be
specified to cover the various applications, and certain industries have already
produced specifications for sieving procedures which are incorporated in the
appropriate Australian Standard for a limited application. Where there is an established
Standard, it should take precedence.

The use of test sieves for particle size analysis covers a wide variety of materials in
size ranges extending from lumps passing through 125 mm apertures to fine powders
with particle sizes down to about 32 µm. To conduct the sizing tests, the test sieves
required may be used singly or they may be grouped together. The test sieve with the
largest aperture required is placed at the top of the nest and the other test sieves are
placed below it in descending order of aperture size.
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The results obtained from a sieve analysis test will depend on several factors, including
the condition of the test sieves used, the sieving medium (wire cloth or perforated
plate), the particles of the shape and density of the material under test, the moisture
content of the material and whether the material possesses electrostatic or other
properties which would cause it to adhere to the sieving medium. The results may also
depend on whether the sieving is by hand or by machine; the results will not
necessarily be the same in each case.

The movement imparted to a test sieve by hand can be adapted by experience to meet
the needs of the material and the sieving medium, which require different techniques
for particles of different size. A machine, on the other hand, is usually designed to
impart a particular combination of movements in a standardized manner, irrespective
of the aperture size of the test sieve or the characteristics of the material, and may not
be readily adaptable to be equally effective for dissimilar materials.
 AS 3638—1993 4

STANDARDS AUSTRALIA

Australian Standard

Test sieving procedures

1 SCOPE This Standard outlines the main factors affecting sieving and the results
obtained, and recommends general principles for apparatus, procedure and presentation
of results. This Standard is applicable to sieving tests on materials which range in
particle size from 32 µm to 125 mm, and vary in their physical and chemical
properties.

This Standard is intended as a guide to all who are responsible for deciding on sieving
procedures and formulates general principles of sieving which may be applied to many
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natural and artificial materials. It considers the alternatives of wet or dry sieving, and
hand or mechanical shaking of test sieves, and recommends the method or combination
of methods which will ensure both rapid and efficient separation of fine particles into
discrete fractions. The method selected depends on the physical properties and the
predominate particle size of the material to be tested.

Sieve analysis may be undertaken —

(a) as part of a research project involving an investigation of the particle size of a

material;

(b) as part of a control procedure for the production of material where the particle
size distribution is important; and

(c) as the basis of a contract for the supply of material specified to be within stated
grading limits.

2 REFERENCED DOCUMENTS The following documents are referred to in this

Standard:

AS
1038 Methods for the analysis and testing of coal and coke

1141 Methods for sampling and testing aggregates

1152 Test sieves

1289 Methods of testing soils for engineering purposes

2646 Sampling of solid mineral fuels

3 DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this Standard, the definitions below apply.

3.1 Aperture size — the dimension defining an opening in the sieving medium.

3.2 Blinding— obstruction of the apertures of a sieving medium by particles of the

material being sieved.

3.3 Bulk density— the ratio of the mass of the charge to its bulk volume.
NOTE: The unit of measurement used in this Standard is g/cm3.

3.4 Charge — a test sample, or part of a test sample.

3.5 Dry sieving — sieving in the absence of a liquid.

COPYRIGHT
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AS 3638-1993, Test sieving procedures

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