| Granulometry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Basic concepts | |
| Particle size, Grain size, Size distribution, Morphology | |
| Methods and techniques | |
| Mesh scale, Optical granulometry, Sieve analysis, Soil gradation | |
Related concepts | |
| Granulation, Granular material, Mineral dust, Pattern recognition, Dynamic light scattering | |
Mesh is a measurement of particle size often used in determining the particle-size distribution of a granular material. For example, a sample from a truckload of peanuts may be placed atop a mesh with 5 mm openings. When the mesh is shaken, small broken pieces and dust pass through the mesh while whole peanuts are retained on the mesh. A commercial peanut buyer might use a test like this to determine if a batch of peanuts has too many broken pieces. This type of test is common in some industries, and, to facilitate uniform testing methods, several standardized mesh series have been established.
Metal surfaces mechanically polished are designated as having a mechanical finish related to the abrasive used.
Many mesh sizes were historically given in the number of holes per inch; due to the width of the wires in the mesh, mesh numbers did not correspond directly to fractional inch sizes, and several different systems standardized with slightly different mesh sizes for the same mesh numbers.
Commercial dimensions
| Sieve size | Opening | Standard Mesh | Tensile Bolting Cloth | Mill Grade | Market Grade | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (mm) | (in) | (μm) | US | Tyler | Mesh | Opening | Wire | Mesh | Opening | Wire | Mesh | Opening | Wire |
| 5.60 | 0.22 | 5600 | 3.5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4.75 | 0.187 | 4750 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4.00 | 0.157 | 4000 | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 3.35 | 0.132 | 3350 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2.80 | 0.110 | 2800 | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2.36 | 0.093 | 2360 | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2.00 | 0.079 | 2000 | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1.70 | 0.0661 | 1700 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 0.062 | 0.009 | 12 | 0.065 | 0.018 | 12 | 0.0603 | 0.023 |
| 1.40 | 0.0555 | 1400 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 0.0535 | 0.009 | 14 | 0.054 | 0.017 | 14 | 0.051 | 0.0204 |
| 1.18 | 0.0469 | 1180 | 16 | 14 | 18 | 0.0466 | 0.009 | 16 | 0.0465 | 0.016 | 16 | 0.0445 | 0.0181 |
| 1.00 | 0.0394 | 1000 | 18 | 16 | 22 | 0.0380 | 0.0075 | 18 | 0.0406 | 0.015 | 18 | 0.0386 | 0.0173 |
| 0.85 | 0.0331 | 850 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 0.0342 | 0.0075 | 20 | 0.0360 | 0.014 | 20 | 0.034 | 0.0162 |
| 0.71 | 0.0278 | 710 | 25 | 24 | 28 | 0.0282 | 0.0075 | 24 | 0.0287 | 0.013 | 24 | 0.0277 | 0.014 |
| 0.60 | 0.0232 | 600 | 30 | 28 | 34 | 0.0229 | 0.0065 | 30 | 0.0238 | 0.0095 | – | – | – |
| 0.50 | 0.0197 | 500 | 35 | 32 | 38 | 0.0198 | 0.0065 | 34 | 0.0204 | 0.009 | 30 | 0.0203 | 0.0128 |
| 0.47 | – | 470 | – | 40 | 0.0185 | 0.0065 | 36 | 0.0188 | 0.009 | – | – | – | |
| 0.465 | – | 465 | – | 42 | 0.0183 | 0.0055 | 38 | 0.0178 | 0.0085 | – | – | – | |
| 0.437 | – | 437 | – | 44 | 0.0172 | 0.0055 | – | – | – | 35 | 0.0176 | 0.0118 | |
| 0.425 | 0.0165 | 425 | 40 | 35 | 46 | 0.0162 | 0.0055 | 40 | 0.0165 | 0.0085 | – | – | – |
| 0.389 | – | 389 | – | 48 | 0.0153 | 0.0055 | – | – | – | 40 | 0.0150 | 0.0104 | |
| 0.368 | – | 368 | – | 50 | 0.0145 | 0.0055 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 0.355 | 0.0139 | 355 | 45 | 42 | 52 | 0.0137 | 0.0055 | 45 | 0.0142 | 0.008 | – | – | – |
| 0.310 | – | 310 | – | 60 | 0.0122 | 0.0045 | 50 | 0.0125 | 0.0075 | – | – | – | |
| 0.300 | 0.0117 | 300 | 50 | 48 | 62 | 0.0116 | 0.0045 | 55 | 0.0112 | 0.007 | – | – | – |
| 0.282 | – | 282 | – | 64 | 0.0111 | 0.0045 | – | – | – | 50 | 0.0110 | 0.0090 | |
| 0.270 | – | 270 | – | 70 | 0.0106 | 0.0037 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 0.260 | – | 260 | – | 72 | 0.0102 | 0.0037 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 0.250 | 0.0098 | 250 | 60 | 60 | 74 | 0.0098 | 0.0037 | 60 | 0.0102 | 0.0065 | – | – | – |
| 0.241 | – | 241 | – | 76 | 0.0095 | 0.0037 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 0.231 | – | – | – | – | 78 | 0.0091 | 0.0037 | – | – | – | 60 | 0.0092 | 0.0075 |
| 0.212 | 0.0083 | 212 | 70 | 65 | 84 | 0.0084 | 0.0035 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 0.193 | – | – | – | – | 90 | 0.0076 | 0.0035 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 0.180 | 0.0070 | 180 | 80 | 80 | 94 | 0.0071 | 0.0035 | – | – | – | 80 | 0.0070 | 0.0055 |
| 0.165 | – | – | – | – | 105 | 0.0065 | 0.0030 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 0.150 | 0.0059 | 150 | 100 | 100 | 120 | 0.0058 | 0.0025 | – | – | – | 100 | 0.0055 | 0.0045 |
| 0.125 | 0.0049 | 125 | 120 | 115 | 145 | 0.0047 | 0.0022 | – | – | – | 120 | 0.0046 | 0.0037 |
| 0.105 | 0.0041 | 105 | 140 | 150 | 165 | 0.0042 | 0.0019 | – | – | – | 150 | 0.0041 | 0.0026 |
| 0.090 | 0.0035 | 90 | 170 | 170 | 200 | 0.0034 | 0.0016 | – | – | – | 180 | 0.0033 | 0.0023 |
| 0.075 | 0.0029 | 75 | 200 | 200 | 230 | 0.0029 | 0.0014 | – | – | – | 200 | 0.0029 | 0.0021 |
| 0.063 | 0.0024 | 63 | 230 | 250 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 250 | 0.0024 | 0.0016 |
| 0.053 | 0.0021 | 53 | 270 | 270 | 300 | 0.0021 | 0.0012 | – | – | – | 270 | 0.0021 | 0.0016 |
| 0.044 | 0.0017 | 44 | 325 | 325 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 325 | 0.0017 | 0.0014 |
| 0.037 | 0.0015 | 37 | 400 | 400 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 400 | 0.0015 | 0.0010 |
| 0.025 | 0.0010 | 25 | 500 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 500 | 0.0010 | 0.0010 |
| 0.020 | 0.0008 | 20 | 625 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 625 | 0.0008 | – |
| 0.015 | 0.0006 | 15 | 800 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 800 | 0.0006 | – |
| 0.010 | 0.0004 | 10 | 1250 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1250 | 0.0004 | – |
| 0.005 | 0.0002 | 5 | 2500 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2500 | 0.0002 | – |
Equivalent mesh sizes from 5 μm to 25.4 mm also exist.[1][2][3]
Available sieve sizes are usually regulated by standards. Those in common use are ISO 565:1990 and ISO 3310-1:2000 (international),[4] EN 933-1(European)[5] and ASTM E11:01 (US). EN standards are available with national 'badging'; so they appear as BS EN, FR EN, DE EN, etc.
Commercial types
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Standard Mesh
- Application: Standard Mesh is the basic type of commercial sieve mesh. It's commonly used in a wide range of industries for basic sieving and filtering.
- Characteristics: These meshes have a standard wire diameter and uniform openings, making them suitable for general screening.
- Variability: Offers a broad range of mesh sizes for different materials and particle sizes.
Tensile Bolting Cloth (TBC)
- Application: Tensile Bolting Cloth is primarily used in the sifting and milling industries. It's also popular in food processing for fine particle separation.
- Characteristics: TBC meshes are lighter and have finer wires compared to standard meshes. They offer higher tensile strength and greater open area, allowing for more precise sieving, especially of finer materials.
- Advantages: Ideal for high-speed screening processes where accuracy is essential. The finer weave ensures precise particle size separation.
Mill Grade
- Application: Mill Grade mesh is designed for grain milling and other agricultural applications. It's also used in some industrial processes.
- Characteristics: These meshes have slightly larger wire diameters than TBC, providing durability and longevity. They are designed to handle rougher materials.
- Advantages: Offers a good balance between throughput and particle size accuracy, suitable for milling larger grain particles.
Market Grade
- Application: Market Grade mesh is the most commonly used in industrial processing. It's suitable for a wide range of applications, including construction, mining, and chemical processing.
- Characteristics: These meshes have a thicker wire diameter compared to Mill Grade and TBC, offering durability and resistance to wear and tear.
- Advantages: Market Grade meshes are ideal for screening heavier and coarser materials. They are designed for applications where the material load is higher and the particle size is relatively larger.
Practical sizes
Although such information contains long lists of sieve sizes, in practice sieves are normally used in series in which each member sieve is selected to pass particles approximately 1/√2 smaller in diameter or 1/2 smaller in cross-sectional area than the previous sieve. For example the series 80mm, 63, 40, 31.5, 20, 16, 14, 10, 8, 6.3, 4, 2.8, 2 mm is routinely available in many European countries or the series with the larger steps 63, 31.5, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 mm, 500 μm, 250, 125, 63 μm is commonly used to grade aggregates in the construction industry. Such series are somewhat derived from the principles originally established by Renard and now known as Renard series. Some users replace some of those indicated above with 45, 22.4, 12.5, 11.2 and 5.6 mm sieves, mostly because of historical usage of such sizes in their country or industry.
References
- ↑ "Equivalent mesh sizes from 5microns to 25.4mm", delloyd.50megs.com, retrieved 2009-05-19
- ↑ "Particle Size Conversion", www.sigmaaldrich.com, retrieved 2012-01-24
- ↑ "Particle Size - US Sieve Series and Tyler Mesh Size Equivalents". www.azom.com. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ↑ ISO 3310-1:2000 Test sieves — Technical requirements and testing — Part 1: Test sieves of metal wire cloth www.iso.org, accessed 13 October 2020
- ↑ DIN EN 933-1 Tests for geometrical properties of aggregates - Part 1: Determination of particle size distribution - Sieving method' www.en-standard.eu, accessed 13 October 2020