Specifies requirements and sets out recommendations for the use of test sieves made from woven wire or perforated plate in the aperture size range 32 µm to 125 mm.

This Standard outlines the main factors affecting sieving and the results obtained, and recommends general principles for apparatus, procedure and presentation of results. This Standard is applicable to sieving tests on materials which range in particle size from 32 mm to 125 mm, and vary in their physical and chemical properties.This Standard is intended as a guide to all who are responsible for deciding on sieving procedures and formulates general principles of sieving which may be applied to many natural and artificial materials. It considers the alternatives of wet or dry sieving, and hand or mechanical shaking of test sieves, and recommends the method or combination of methods which will ensure both rapid and efficient separation of fine particles into discrete fractions. The method selected depends on the physical properties and the predominate particle size of the material to be tested.Sieve analysis may be undertaken -(a) as part of a research project involving an investigation of the particle size of a material;(b) as part of a control procedure for the production of material where the particle size distribution is important; and(c) as the basis of a contract for the supply of material specified to be within stated grading limits.

First published as AS 3638-1993.