INDEX

 Abstract ..........................................
..............

 Introduction ......................................
............

 Methodology .......................................
.........

 Observation .......................................
...........

 Conclusions .......................................
...........

 Result ............................................
................

1
 ABSTRACT

Sand grain analysis is used to help understand the properties of

a reservoir rock. It can also be used to determine the size,
shape, and composition of the grains in a rock, which can
provide information about the rock's porosity and permeability.
Both of these properties are important in determining the
potential of a rock to store and transmit fluids, such as oil or
natural gas. In this report, we describe the use of a sieve
shaker to perform sand grain analysis. The sieve shaker is a
laboratory instrument that vibrates a stack of sieves to
separate the particles contained within a sample of sand
according to size. The results of the analysis are typically
presented in the form of a particle size distribution curve,
which shows the percentage of particles in the sample within a
given size range. In addition to providing information about the
size distribution of the particles, this report also discusses
sand grain analysis and how it can also be used to study the
physical properties of granular materials and to predict their
behavior in various environments. Moreover, we will also
describe the process of performing sand grain analysis using a
sieve shaker and discuss the advantages and limitations of this
method. Overall, this report aims to provide an overview of the
role of sand grain analysis in petro physics and the utility of
using a sieve shaker to perform this analysis.

INTRODUCTION

2
For geologists and engineers in the oil and gas industry, it is
essential to know about the properties of sand grains that are
present in a reservoir. The understanding of sedimentary
particles properties allows the acquisition of extremely useful
information. These properties reflect the genesis, the processes
of transportation and deposition and permit to establish
correlations between different types of particles and the
evaluation of natural resources availability. The size of the
sand particles or grains is one of the most important properties
since its measurement allows characterizing and distinguishing
different deposits. The computation of size in sands has long
been obtained by means of sieving. This is an established
technique that requires long time intervals until the results
are obtained. These results are normally presented in the form
of cumulative curves of the weight of grains between two
consecutive sieve sizes. The size of the sieve is given as the
size of the aperture measured perpendicularly to the wires
through the center of the hollow space.

METHODOLOGY
Equipment:
 Balance
 Set of sieves
 Cleaning brush
 Sieve shaker
 Mixer (blender)

Sample collection:
Two types of sand from different deposits were collected and
used in this investigation. The origin of the samples is quite
distinct to better evaluate the sensibility of our approach to
the range of characteristics presented by the different types of
sands. In this paper, one sample from U.P more North Karachi (
24°58'51.3”N, 67°04'07.5”E ) and second one from D.C office
North Nazimabad ( 24.950981”N ,67.061722”E ) are used. Figure

3
2.1 represent the map of karachi,with the sampling locations
determined. Both Sample 1 and 2 are represented in the figure
2.2(a) and 2.2(b).

4
Figure 2.1 : SAMPLING LOCATIONS REPRESENTED ON THE MAP

5
 FIGURE 2.2(a) : SAMPLE 1

FIGURE 2.2 (b) : SAMPLE 2

Statistical analysis:
Certain statistical parameters were measured to determine the
characteristics of the sand samples. Subsampling is a key
technique utilized in scientific experiments, where a smaller
sample representative of the larger sample is taken and its
properties determined. The statistical parameters utilized in
this study were the mean, mode, median, standard deviation,
skewness and kurtosis. The mean, mode and median reflect the
central value of the dataset.
Where,

6
 STANDARD DEVIATION:It defines the distance of majority of
the values.
 SKEWNESS: It reflects the asymmetry in a unimodal
distribution.
 KURTOSIS: It defines the extent to which a unimodal
frequency curve is peaked [a].
 MEAN: It can be used to determine the grain sizes presented
in sample (Table 2.1).

TABLE 2.1: GRAIN SIZE

FROM GRAPHIC MEAN
GRAIN SIZE PHI SCALE
BOULDER -12 to -8 phi
COBBLE -8 to -6 phi
PEBBLE -6 to -2 phi
GRANULAR -2 to -1 phi
VERYCOASRE -1 to 0.0 phi
GRAINED
COARSED GRAINED 0.0 to 1.0 phi
MEDIAN GRAINED 1.0 to 2.0 phi
FINE GRAINED 2.0 to 3.0 phi
VERY FINE GRAINED 3.0 to 4.0 phi
COARSE SILT 4.0 to 5.0 phi
MEDIUM SILT 5.0 to 6.0 phi
FINE SILT 6.0 to 7.0 phi
VERY FINE SILT 7.0 to 8.0 phi
CLAY 8.0 phi and smaller

7
 TABLE 2.2: SORTING FROM
INCLUSIVE STANDARD DEVIATION

SORTING PHI SCALE

VERY WELL SORTED Under 0.35 phi
WELL SORTED 0.35 to 0.50 phi
MODERATELY WELL 0.50 to 0.71 phi
SORTED
POORLY SORTED 1.0 to 2.0 phi
VERY POORLY SORTED 2.0 to 4.0 phi
EXTREMELY POORLY Over 4.0 phi
SORTED

Table 2.2 shows the classification of sorting based on the

standard deviation value in the phi scale. The graphic skewness
identifies the size range where the majority of the grains
present in the sample lie. If the peak lies towards the right,
the data is negatively skewed, i.e. higher percentage of finer
particles are present. Whereas, a left inclined peak suggests
positively skewed i.e. coarser particles.
TABLE 2.3: SORTING SKEWNESS FROM
INCLUSIVE GRAPHIC SKEWNESS

SORTING SKEWNESS PHI SCALE

STRONGLY FINE SKEWED +1.00 to +0.30

FINE SKEWED +0.30 to +0.10

NEAR SYMMETRICAL +0.10 to -0.10

8
COARSE SKEWED -0.10 to -0.30

STRONGLY COARSE SKEWED -0.30 to -1.00

Table 2.3 shows how sorting skewness can be determined from

graphical skewness.

CALCULATION FOR SAMPLE 1:

Table 3.1:
INTIAL MASS OF SAMPLE = 100g
MASS OF BEAKER + SAMPLE = 102.56g
MASS OF BEAKER = 2.56g

SEIVE OPENING % CUMULATIVE %

(mm) SAMPLE 1 RETAINED RETAINED % FINER
0.850 4.33 4.33 19.92 80.08
0.600 4.01 4.01 23.93 76.07
0.425 4.63 4.63 28.56 71.44
0.300 7.19 7.19 35.75 64.25
0.250 7.78 7.78 43.53 56.47
0 71.06 71.06 114.59 -14.59

2. CURVE (PHI SCALE VS CUMULATIVE % RETAINED)

PHI SCALE CUMULATIVE % RETAINED

0.234 19.92

9
 0.737 23.93

1.234 28.56

1.737 35.75

2 43.53

114.59

CUMULATIVE % RETAINED
1000.00

CUMULATIVE % RETAINED
100.00

10.00
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

Table 3.2:
INTIAL MASS OF SAMPLE = 100g
MASS OF BEAKER + SAMPLE = 102.56g
MASS OF BEAKER = 2.56g

CUMULATIVE %
SEIVE OPENING (mm) SAMPLE 2 % RETAINED RETAINED % FINER
0.850 13.29 13.29 19.92 80.08
0.600 5.13 5.13 25.05 74.95
0.425 6.05 6.05 31.10 68.90
0.300 8.68 8.68 39.78 60.22

10
 0.250 8.29 8.29 48.07 51.93
0 70.74 70.74 118.81 -18.81

2. CURVE (PHI SCALE VS CUMULATIVE % RETAINED)

PHI SCALE CUMULATIVE % RETAINED

0.234 19.92

0.737 25.05

1.234 31.10

1.737 39.78

2 48.07

118.81

CUMULATIVE % RETAINED
1000.00

CUMULATIVE % RETAINED
100.00

10.00
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

Histograms were plotted between the Phi Scale and Percentage weight retained
for both the samples which are shown in Figures 3.1 and 3.2 respectively.

11
RESULTS:

For the purpose of ease in calculations and determinations the sieve opening
values present in millimeters (mm) was converted into phi using the following
formula:

∅=− A

Where,
∅ = Corresponding Phi Scale Values

A = Values of Sieve Opening in mm

The weight retained for each of the sieves for Sample 1 and Sample 2 is
shown in Table 3.1 and Table 3.2 respectively. The Percentage Retained was
calculated using the following formula:

Weigℎt Retained
% Percentage Retained= ×100
Initial Mass of Sample

12