Florida International University

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

CEG 4011 L Geotechnical Engineering I Laboratory

Prof. Luis A. Prieto-Portar PhD, PE, SE.

Lab Report #02

Particle-Size Analysis Mechanical (ASTM D-421)

Performed on 12 February 2009

Team Members:

Member Attendance Writing Assignment Completed

 02- Particle-size Analysis (Mechanical) of a
Soil

1) Introduction:
The particle-size analysis via sieves (mechanical) of a soil is one of the most useful of the
geotechnical tests. ASTM has designated it with a Standard, ASTM D-421 for sample
preparation, ASTM-D-422 test procedures, AASHTO T-87 sample preparation, and
AASHTO T-88 test procedures. Also, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Laboratory Soils
Testing, EM 1110-2, Appendix V.

The objective of this experiment is to classify the proportion of coarse grain of a soil
sample.

The classification of soils using the sieve analysis can determine the grain size distribution
of coarse grained soils into sands and gravels. Sieves are made of woven wires with square
openings which decrease in size as the sieve number increases. The number is a rough
indication of the number of wires per inch. For example, the #4 sieve separates gravels
from sands; the #4 indicates 4 wires per inch, thus retaining gravels greater than 4.75 mm
in size. Table 1 gives a list of the U.S. standard sieve numbers with their corresponding
size of openings. The most commonly used sieves are highlighted in red.

Sieve No. Opening (mm) Sieve No. Opening (mm)

4 4.75 35 0.500
5 4.00 40 0.425
6 3.35 45 0.355
7 2.80 50 0.300
8 2.36 60 0.250
10 2.00 70 0.212
12 1.70 80 0.180
14 1.40 100 0.150
16 1.18 120 0.125
18 1.00 140 0.106
20 0.85 200 0.075
25 0.71 270 0.053
30 0.60 400 0.038
2) Equipment:

1. A set of sieves: cover plus #4, 10, 40, 80, 140, and 200, plus the bottom pan;

2. Mechanical sieve shaker (our lab’s has 278 oscillations and 150 taps per minutes);

3. A set of mortar and pestle to pulverize the soil;

4. An electronic scale sensitive to 0.1 g.

Electronic scale. A soil sample to be tested.

A set of sieves. No. 4 sieve with retained gravel sized

soil.
Motor-driven shakers.

3) Procedure:

1. Weigh and record weight of an empty aluminum bowl;

2. Collect a representative oven-dry soil sample of about 500 grams;
3. Determine the weight of the sample accurately to 0.1 grams;
4. Prepare a stack of sieves: generally use Nos. 4, 10, 20, 40, 60, 140, and 200; however,
more and other sieves can be placed in between;
5. Place a pan under the # 200 sieve to collect the fine clay from the dry sample;
6. Pour the soil prepared in Step 2 into the stack of sieves from the top;
7. Place the cover on the top of the stack of sieves;
8. Run the stack of sieves through a sieve shaker for 10 to 15 minutes;
9. Separate each sieve and the bottom pan carefully and weigh them with their retained
soil. Clean and put in place all the materials use in this experiment.
10. If a considerable amount of soil with silty and clayey fractions is retained on the #200
sieve, it has to be washed, by taking the No.200 sieve with the soil retained on it and
pouring water through the sieve from a tap in the laboratory.
When the water passing through the sieve is clean, stop the flow of water. Transfer the soil
retained on the sieve at the end of washing to a porcelain-evaporating dish by back
washing. Put it in the oven to dry to a constant weight. (This step is not necessary if the
amount of soil retained on the #200 sieve is small.). Determine the weight of the dry soil
retained on the # 200 sieve. The difference between this weight and that retained on the
#200 sieve is the weight of soil that has washed through.

Sieves separated and ready for weighing.

 4) Data:

Weight of
Sieve Sieve Weight Weight of soil % Weight of soil
Sieve sieve with Cumulative % % Finer,
opening opening of sieve retained on retained on each
Number aggregate retained ΣRn 100- ΣRn
(in) (mm) (g) (g)
each sieve (g) sieve, Rn

4 0.187 4.750 757.2 782.8 25.6 5.1 5.1 94.9

16 0.047 1.191 602.9 711.3 108.4 21.6 26.7 73.3
30 0.024 0.599 584.0 685.1 101.1 20.1 46.8 53.2
60 0.010 0.249 300.4 376.0 75.6 15.1 61.9 38.1
140 0.004 0.106 318.4 458.0 139.6 27.8 89.7 10.3
200 0.003 0.075 339.4 364.3 24.9 5.0 94.7 5.3
Pan N.A. N.A. 373.5 400.2 26.7 5.3 100.0 0.0
 = 501.9 =
 = 100.0
W1

Weight loss during the sieve analysis = 0.02 %

 5) Graph.

Percent Finer vs. Grain Size

100

90

80

70
Percent Finer (%)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
10 1 D 6 0 =0.6 D 3 0 =0.25 D 10 =0.106 0.1 0.01
Grain Size (mm)

In your reports, always place your graphs in landscape mode.

6) Sample Calculations:

The grain-size distribution obtained from the sieve analysis is plotted in a semi-

logarithmic graph paper with grain size plotted on the log scale and percent finer plotted

on the natural scale.

D10 = 0.11 mm (from the

graph)

D30 = 0.25 mm (from the

graph)

D60 = 0.60 mm (from the

graph)

Cu = D60/D10 = ( 0.60)/(0.11) = 5.5

Cc = (D30)2/(D60xD10) = (0.25)2/(0.6*0.11) = 0.95

1. Weight of soil retained on each sieve

(g) = Weight of sieve with soil (g) – Weight of empty sieve (g)
W = 857.3 g - 784.2 g = 73.1 g
2. Percent weight of soil retained on each sieve, Rn (%)
Rn (%) = [Weight of soil retained / Weight of oven dry sample] x 100 (%)
Rn = (73.1/562)*100 = 13%
3. Cumulative percent of soil retained on the nth sieve, SUMRn (%)
SUM Rn (%) = Σ R(nth) (%)
Sum Rn = 13%
4. Cumulative percent of soil passing through the nth sieve (% finer), 100 - Σ Rn
100 - Σ Rn = percent finer = 100 - Σ R(nth) (%) = 100-13 = 87 %
5. Weight loss of soil during sieve analysis
 W(g) = [(Wt. of sample – SUM(Weight of soil retained) / Wt. of sample] x 100
= (W – W1) / (W) x 100 (%) (O.K. if less than 2%)
= 1.8 g = 0.032 %

7) Conclusions:
1. How much soil weight was lost in the analysis? What are some sources for error?
2. What do D10, D85, D60 signify?
3. What do the coefficients of uniformity Cu and concavity Cc, indicate?
(Here is an example: “The Sieve Analysis is the most common method used in the engineering
classification of soils. Grain size is a crucial criterion of soils, especially in the area of
transportation when dealing with roads and airfields, as well as in other type of constructions
such as dams and structures. Information obtained from the grain – size analysis can be used by
the Geotechnical Engineer to predict the following: soil-water movement, and susceptibility to
frost action in soil in cold weather. The grain-size analysis is an attempt to determine the
relative proportion of the different grain sizes that make up a given soil sample. In the Sieve
Analysis experiment, our group measured the mass of a dry soil sample through six different
sieve openings. In order to determine the type of soil been investigated, the value calculated for
the No. 200 sieve was considered. With a No. 200 Sieve percent passing value of 1.43 %
suggests a coarse grained soil, i.e. a sandy soil. Two important values, i.e. Cc and Cu, were
determined, for this soil sample, since Cc vale was calculated as 0.95 which is nearly equal 1 the
soil is classified as poorly graded soil, however with a Cu value of 5.5 which is less than 6, the
sample is classified as poorly graded sand. Due to the limitations in properly classify the sandy
soil sample, our group attempted to determine the different sources of the 0.04% error that was
obtained after the test concluded. The most common error is human error, which includes
improper reading of the scale when measuring the mass of the soil in each sieve. Since the scale
was air sensitive and fluctuated when outside motion was present, this could have affected the
mass been measured. The time for shaking was not exactly 5 minutes. Also, since all soils are
different, maybe 5 minutes was not enough for the soil to be properly distributed. Some of the
soil sample was lost during shaking which further compounded the error. Additionally, some
sand particles remained under No. 60,140, and 200 sieves when in fact, they should have passed
through the sieve, this did affect the percent finer for all of those sieves. The group concluded
that the results of the Sieve Analysis would have been more accurate if the time of shaking was
increased to between 15 – 20 minutes, this would allow sand
to fully pass through each sieve. Additionally, it is important to note that the reading should not
be taken until the scale reads “Stable “. Finally, the sand that did not fully pass through a sieve
can be transferred to the following sieve level by utilizing a brush; as a result this will prevent
errors in the calculation of percent finer. Unfortunately, during our experiment we did not have
such a brush. These suggestions would minimize the attributable errors and provide accurate
measurements essential for the classifying the type of soil sample.”).
7) References:
1. Professor Luis A. Prieto-Portar, “Geotechnical Laboratory Manual”, available a
http://web.eng.fiu.edu/prieto, 2009;
2. http://training.ce.washington.edu/WSDOT/Modules/03_materials/03-2_body.htm.
 Sample of a Data Sheet
Grain Size Distribution: The Sieve Analysis

Group: ___________ Date: ______________ Location: _____________

Soil Description: _______________________________________________________

Weight of
Sieve Sieve Weight Weight of % of weight Cumulative %
Sieve soil retained % Finer,
opening opening of sieve sieve with retained on each retained
Number on each 100-ΣRnth
(in) (mm) (g) aggregate (g) sieve, R(nth) ΣRnth
sieve (g)
4
16
30
60
140
200
Pan
 =  =

Notes: