Sieve Analysis of Soil — Lab Manual

Objective & standard

Particle size distribution of coarse-grained soil — gives D10, D30, D60, Cu, Cc and the soil class.

Standard: ASTM D6913 / BS 1377-2

Apparatus

• Sieve set 75 mm … 75 µm (No. 200), pan & lid
• Mechanical shaker
• Balance
• Oven, brushes

Procedure

1. Oven-dry the sample and weigh it (W).
2. Wash over the 75 µm sieve if fines are present; dry and re-weigh.
3. Stack the sieves largest on top and shake for 10–15 minutes.
4. Weigh the soil retained on each sieve and in the pan.
5. Check: total retained should be within 1 % of the starting mass.

Calculations

• % retained = mass retained ÷ W × 100
• % passing = 100 − cumulative % retained
• Cu = D60/D10; Cc = D30² / (D10 × D60)

Typical values: Well-graded gravel Cu ≥ 4, sand Cu ≥ 6, with 1 ≤ Cc ≤ 3.

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Data sheet (print this page)

Project: ____________________   Sample: __________   Date: __________   Tested by: __________

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