MeshMesh consists of semi-permeable barrier made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material. Mesh is similar to web or net in that it has many attached or woven strands.-Types of mesh:...
material is often used in determining the
particle size distributionThe particle size distribution of a powder, or granular material, or particles dispersed in fluid, is a list of values or a mathematical function that defines the relative amounts of particles present, sorted according to size...
of a
granular materialA granular material is a conglomeration of discrete solid, macroscopic particles characterized by a loss of energy whenever the particles interact . The constituents that compose granular material must be large enough such that they are not subject to thermal motion fluctuations...
. 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.
Applicable
standardA technical standard is an established norm or requirement. It is usually a formal document that establishes uniform engineering or technical criteria, methods, processes and practices....
s are ISO 565 (1987), ISO 3310 (1999), ASTM E 11-70 (1995), DIN 4188 (1977), BS 410 (1986) and AFNOR NFX11-501 (1987).
One well-known mesh series is the Tyler Equivalent created by the W.S.
MeshMesh consists of semi-permeable barrier made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material. Mesh is similar to web or net in that it has many attached or woven strands.-Types of mesh:...
material is often used in determining the
particle size distributionThe particle size distribution of a powder, or granular material, or particles dispersed in fluid, is a list of values or a mathematical function that defines the relative amounts of particles present, sorted according to size...
of a
granular materialA granular material is a conglomeration of discrete solid, macroscopic particles characterized by a loss of energy whenever the particles interact . The constituents that compose granular material must be large enough such that they are not subject to thermal motion fluctuations...
. 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.
Applicable
standardA technical standard is an established norm or requirement. It is usually a formal document that establishes uniform engineering or technical criteria, methods, processes and practices....
s are ISO 565 (1987), ISO 3310 (1999), ASTM E 11-70 (1995), DIN 4188 (1977), BS 410 (1986) and AFNOR NFX11-501 (1987).
Tyler mesh size
One well-known mesh series is the Tyler Equivalent created by the W.S. Tyler screening company. Tyler mesh size is the number of openings per (linear) inch of mesh. To calculate the size of the openings in a mesh the thickness of the
wireA wire is a single, usually cylindrical, string of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads and to carry electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Standard sizes are determined by various wire gauges...
s making up the mesh material must be taken into account. In practice, mesh openings are determined referring to a chart like the one below. Mesh size given as 4*4 means the number of squares in one inch horizontally is 4 and vertically is 4.
Variation in mesh openings
Some standards use the mesh designation as the number of wires rather than the size of openings (see Tyler, above). There can be significant differences in particle size passing small laboratory screens versus large heavy-duty industrial screens due to the different wire sizes used. Thicker wire results in a smaller opening size for an equivalent mesh. An example of variation moving between machine sizes is:
Laboratory sieve cloth
| Sieve Designation |
|
Wire width |
|
Opening |
|
| |
|
[mm] |
[inches] |
[mm] |
[inches] |
| 10 Mesh |
U.S. Std. No. 12 |
0.800 |
0.0315 |
1.7 |
0.0669 (0.0661 nominal) |
Medium industrial screen cloth
| Sieve |
Wire Width |
Opening |
Opening |
| 10 Mesh |
0.035 in |
0.0650 in |
1651 μm |
Heavy industrial screen cloth
| Sieve |
Wire Width |
Opening |
Opening |
| 10 Mesh |
0.047 in |
0.053 in |
1346 μm |
Particle size distribution
Powders and granular materials are sometimes described as having a certain mesh size (e.g. 30 mesh sand). By itself, this type of description is somewhat ambiguous. More precise specifications will indicate that a material will pass through some specific mesh (that is, have a maximum size; larger pieces won't fit through this mesh) but will be retained by some specific tighter mesh (that is, a minimum size; pieces smaller than this will have passed through the mesh). This type of description establishes a range of particle sizes.
One notation for indicating particle size distribution using mesh size is to use + and - designations. A "+" before the sieve mesh indicates the particles are retained by the sieve, while a "-" before the sieve mesh indicates the particles pass through the sieve. This means that typically 90% or more of the particles will have mesh sizes between the two values.
For instance, if the particle size of a material is described as -80/+170 (or could also be written -80 +170), then 90% or more of the material will pass through an 80 mesh sieve and be retained by a 170 mesh sieve. Using the conversion chart below, the resulting particles will have a range of diameters between 0.089 and 0.178 mm (89 and 178 micrometers).
Abrasives
The Federation of European Producers of Abrasives (FEPA) has four sets of standards to denote size of grains coupled with the type of
abrasiveAn abrasive is a material, often a mineral, that is used to shape or finish a workpiece through rubbing which leads to part of the workpiece being worn away...
. The standards indicate a range of grit sizes that may come within any single designator which consists of a letter (F for bonded abrasives and P for coated abrasives) and a number. Within each series are two standards detailing the larger macrogrit (approximately 12 – 240) and smaller microgrit (approximately 230 – 2000 or 2500) sizes and the different process by which sizes are determined (sieving for the larger grits and sedimentation for the smaller).
While following the common practice of smaller designators meaning coarser grits and similar cut-off marks between macro- and microgrit standards, the F and P series are not compatible. While F 12 and P 12 are only about 3% different in size, P 2000 is more than 750% larger than F 2000 (that is, the particles in F 2000 are about 8.5 times as large as those in P 2000).
Metal surfaces
mechanically polishedPolishing and buffing are finishing processes for smoothing a workpiece's surface using an abrasive and a work wheel. Technically polishing refers to processes that use an abrasive that is glued to the work wheel, while buffing uses a loose abrasive applied to the work wheel...
are designated as having a mechanical finish related to the abrasive used.
Sieve sizing and conversion chart
Typical openings in laboratory sieve series
| Sieve size (mm) |
BSS |
Tyler (approx) |
US (approx) |
| 4.75 |
- |
4 |
4 |
| 3.35 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
| 2.81 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
| 2.38 |
7 |
7 |
8 |
| 2.00 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
| 1.68 |
10 |
10 |
12 |
| 1.40 |
12 |
12 |
14 |
| 1.20 |
14 |
14 |
16 |
| 1.00 |
16 |
16 |
18 |
| 0.853 |
18 |
20 |
20 |
| 0.710 |
22 |
24 |
25 |
| 0.599 |
25 |
28 |
30 |
| 0.500 |
30 |
32 |
35 |
| 0.422 |
36 |
35 |
40 |
| 0.354 |
44 |
42 |
45 |
| 0.297 |
52 |
48 |
50 |
| 0.251 |
60 |
60 |
60 |
| 0.211 |
72 |
65 |
70 |
| 0.178 |
85 |
80 |
80 |
| 0.152 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| 0.125 |
120 |
115 |
120 |
| 0.104 |
150 |
150 |
140 |
| 0.089 |
170 |
170 |
170 |
| 0.075 |
200 |
200 |
200 |
| 0.066 |
240 |
250 |
230 |
| 0.053 |
300 |
270 |
270 |
| 0.044 |
350 |
325 |
325 |
| 0.037 |
440 |
400 |
400 |
Further information on equivalent mesh sizes from 5μm to 25.4mm is available Available sieve sizes are usually regulated by standards. Those in common use are ISO 565:1990 and ISO 3310-1:2000 (international), EN 933-1(European) and ASTM E11:01 (US). EN standards are available with national 'badging' so appear as BS EN , FR EN, DE EN, etc. A comparison is available .
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 or 1/2 smaller in size than the previous sieve. For example the series 80mm, 63, 40, 31.5, 20, 16, 14, 10, 8, 6.3, 4, 2.8, 2mm is routinely available in many European countries or the series with the larger steps 63, 31.5, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1mm, 500μm, 250, 125, 63μm 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's Series; see
Preferred numberIn industrial design, preferred numbers are standard guidelines for choosing exact product dimensions within a given set of constraints....
. Some users replace some of those indicated above with 45, 22.4, 12.5, 11.2 and 5.6mm sieves, mostly because of historical usage of such sizes in their country or industry.