4

Sieve Analysis
Introduction
In order to classifY a: soil for engineering purposes, one needs to know the distribution of the
size of grains in a given soil mass. Sieve analysis is a method used to deter mine the grain-
size distribution of soils. Sieves are made of woven wires with square openings. Note that.
as the sieve number increases the size of the openings decreases. Table 4-1 gives a list of the
U.S. standard sieve numbers with their corresponding size of openings. For all practical
purposes, the No. 200 sieve is the sieve with the smallest opening that should be used for the
test. The sieves that are most commonly used for soil tests have a diameter of 8 in. (203 mm).
A stack of sieves is shown in Fig. 4.-1.
The method of sieve analysis described here is applicable for soils that are mostly
granular with some or no fines. Sieve analysis does not provide information as to shape of
particles.
Table 4-1. U.S. Sieve Sizes

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 l40 0.106
20 0.85 200 O.o?5
25 0.71 270 0.053
30 0.60 400 0.038

15

=
16 Soil Mechanics Laboratory Manual

Figure 4-1. A stack of sieves with a pan at the

bottom and a cover on the top.

Equipment
1. Sieves, a bottom pan, and a cover
Note: Sieve numbers 4, 10, 20, 40, 60, 140, and 200 are generally used for most
standard sieve analysis work.
2. A balance sensitive up to 0.1 g
3. Mortar and rubber~tipped pestle
4. Oven
5. Mechanical sieve shaker

Procedure
1. Collect a representative oven dry soil sample. Samples having largest particles of the
size of No . 4 sieve openings (4.75 rnm) should be about 500 grams. For soils having
largest particles of size greater than 4.75 rnm, larger weights are needed.
2. Break the soil sample into individual particles using a mortar and a rubber-tipped
pestle. (Note: The idea is to break up the soil into individual particles, not to break
the particles themselves.)
3. Determine the mass ofthe sample accurately to 0.1 g CW).
 Soil Mechanics Laboratory Manual 17

Figure 4-2. Washing of the soil retained on No. 200 sieve.

4. Prepare a stack of sieves. A sieve with larger openings is placed above a sieve with
smaller openings. The sieve at the bottom should be No. 200. A bottom pan should
be placed under sieve No. 200. As mentioned before, the sieves that are generally
used in a stack are Nos. 4, 10,20,40,60, 140, and 200; however, more sieves can be
placed in between.
5. Pour the soil prepared in Step 2 into the stack of sieves from the top.
6. Place the cover on the top of the stack of sieves.
7. Run the stack of sieves through a sieve shaker for about 10 to 15 minutes.
8. Stop the sieve shaker and remove the stack of sieves.
9. Weigh the amount of soil retained on each sieve and the bottom pan.
10. If a considerable amount of soil with silty and clayey fractions is retained on the No.
200 sieve, it has to be washed. Washing is done by taking the No. 200 sieve with the
soilretained on it and pouring water through the sieve from a tap in the laboratory
(Fig. 4-'-2).
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
(Fig. 4-'-3). Put it in the oven to dry to a constant weight. (Note: This step is not necessary
if the amount of soil retained on the No. 200 sieve is small.)
Determine the mass of the dry soil retained on.No. 200 sieve. The difference between
this mass and that retained on No. 200 sieve determined in Step 9 is the mass of soil that has
washed through.
18 Soil Mechanics Laboratory Manual

i--~

Figure 4-3. Back washing to transfer the soil retained on

No. 200 sieve to an evaporating dish.

Calculation
1. Calculate the percent of soil retained on the nth sieve (counting from the top)

= mass retained, w,.

x 100 = R
(4.1)
total mass, W (Step 3) n

2. Calculate the cumulative percent of soil retained on the nth sieve

j"",n
(4.2)
=LRn
;=1

3. Calculate the cumulative percent passing through the nth sieve

i=n

= percent fmer = 100 - L Rn (4.3)

1=1

Note: If soil retained on No.200 sieve is washed, the dry unit weight determined after
washing (Step 10) should be used to calculate percent finer (than No. 200 sieve). The weight
lost due to washing should be added to the weight of the soil retained on the pan.
 Soil Mechanics Laboratory Manual 19

A sample calculation of sieve analysis is shown in Table 4-2.

I
~
~

i.U Table 4-2. Sieve Analysis

Description of soil _~s.""a,-"nd"-L!W::L!ltLJ.h-",so",m.!..!"'-eJ.LfinlJje",,5,-- _ _ Sample No. _~2,,----_

Mass of oven dry specimen, W 500 g

····1·.·.·
Location _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
/'

Tested by _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Date,_··_ _ _ _ _ _ __

4 4.750 0 0 0 /00.0
/0 2.000 40.2 8.0 8.0 92.0
20 0.850 84.6 /6.9 24.9 75.1
30 0.600 50.2 10.0 34.9 65. /

40 0.425 40.0 8.0 42.9 571

60 0.250 /06.4 2/.3 64.2 35.8

/40 0.106 /08.8 21.8 86.0 /4.0

200 0.075 59.4 11.9 979 2./

Pan 8.7

L 498.3 = W,

Mass loss during sieve analysis = w- w, x 100 = 0.34 % (OK.if less than 2%)
w
Graphs tJ.. 13;
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. Figure ~ is a grain-size distribution plot for the calculation shown in Table 4--2.
20 Soil Mechanics Laboratory Manual

100
r---

""
.

lJ 60
'""g
80

"" I'

""
~ 40
1\
\
-\J
20
1\
~.

0
10 1 0.1
Grain size, D (mm) .,-,

Figure 4-4. Plot of percent finer vs. grain size from the
calculation shown in Table 4-2.

The grain-size distribution plot helps to estimate the percent finer than a given sieve size
which might not have been used during the test. .

Other Calculations
I. Determine D IO , D 30 , and D60 (from Fig. 4-4), which are, respectively, the diameters
corresponding to percents finer of 10%, 30%, and 60%.
2. Calculate the uniformity coefficient (Cu ) and the coefficient of gradation (Cc ) using
the following equations:
C = D60
U
11 D10 (4.4)
7 - .

\ (4.5)
D.\;J,

As an example, from Fig. 4-4, D60 = 0.46 mm, D30 = 0.21 mm, and L10 = 0.098 mm.
So
c = 0.46 = 4.69
u 0.098
,
<-

Soil Mechanics Laboratory Manual 21

and

C = (0.21)2 = 0.98
, (0.46)(0.098)

General Comments
The diameter, DID' is generally referred to as effective size. The effective size is used for
several empirical correlations, such as coefficient of permeability. The coefficient of
gradation, Cu , is a parameter which indicates the range of distribution of grain sizes in a
given soil specimen. If Cu is relatively large, it indicates a well graded soil. If Cu is nearly
equal to one, it means that the soil grains are of approximately equal size, and the soil may
be referred to as a poorly graded soil.
Figure 4-5 shows the general nature of the grain-size distribution curves for a well
graded and a poorly graded soil. In some instances, a soil may have a combination of two or
more uniformly graded fractions, and this soil is referred to as gap graded. The grain-size
distribution curve for a gap graded soil is also shown in Fig. 4-5.
The parameter Cc is also referred to as the coefficient of curvature. For sand, if <;; is
greater than 6 and Cc is between I and 3, it is considered well graded. However, for a gravel
to be well-graded, Cu should be greater than 4 and Cc must be between I and 3.
The DIS and Dss sizes are used for design of filters. The DSD size is used for correlation
of the liquefaction potential of saturated granular soil during earthquakes.
22 Soil Mechanics LaboratoryManual

Well graded

Poorly graded Gap graded

Grain size (log scale)

Figure 4-5. General nature of grain-size distribution

of well graded, poorly graded and gap
.graded soil.