LAB 3: SIEVE ANALYSIS TEST

1. Gather materials and equipment

2. Add approximately 1000g of dry soil to the container and record the mass [M]
3. Measure and record the mass of each empty sieve [MSIEVE 1, 2, 3…]
4. Stack the sieves in ascending order of grate size, with the closed pan on bottom
5. Carefully add the soil sample to the top sieve, and place a cover on top
6. Install the stacked sieves into the mechanical shaker, and allow to run for 10 minutes
7. Remove the sieves from the shaker
a. Separate each sieve careful to NOT SPILL any of the contents
b. Measure and record the mass of each sieve [MSIEVE+SOIL 1, 2, 3…]
c. Calculate the Mass Retained on each sieve: [MSIEVE+SOIL 1, 2, 3…] – [MSIEVE 1, 2, 3…]
8. Calculate Percent Finer for each sieve and construct the Particle Size Distribution curve
(Be sure to attempt to classify the gradation from the curve in your conclusions)
9. Clean lab stations and return equipment
10. For the calculations, consult example 2.1 and for report writing, read summary sec
2.10 and sec 5.5.

Equations
Retained Mass (𝑀𝑛 ) = 𝑀𝑆𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒+𝑆𝑜𝑖𝑙 − 𝑀𝑆𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒
𝑀𝑛
% Mass Retained (𝑅𝑛 ) = 𝑀
× 100%

% Cumulative Retained = ∑ 𝑅𝑛
% Finer = 100% − ∑ 𝑅𝑛
𝐷
Coefficient of uniformity (𝐶𝑢 ) = 𝐷60
10

𝐷30 2
Coefficient of curvature (𝐶𝑐 ) = 𝐷
60 𝐷10

D60 = grain diameter at 60% finer

D30 = grain diameter at 30% finer
D10 = grain diameter at 10% finer
Sieve Sieve Mass of Soil Percent of Cumulative Percent
No. Opening Retained on Mass Retained Percent Finer
(𝑚𝑚) Each Sieve on Each Sieve Retaied 100 − ∑ 𝑅𝑛
𝑀𝑛 (𝑔) 𝑅𝑛 ∑ 𝑅𝑛
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
4 4.750
10 2.000
20 0.850
40 0.425
60 0.250
100 0.150
200 0.075
Pan -----