36 DEPARTMENT BULLETIN 1216, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
evaporated to dryness and the dish and contents cooled in a desiccator and 
weighed. The weight of the residue in grains divided by 5 is the percentage of 
total solids in the water. 
3. The total solids obtained as described may consist of organic matter, of 
inorganic matter, or of combinations of organic and inorganic matter. The 
platinum dish shall be ignited at low red heat, and the darkening of the 
residue during the early stage of the ignition usually indicates the presence of 
organic matter. The percentage loss on ignition at low red heat will usually be 
an indicator of the amount of organic matter, but it should be noted that some 
mineral suits tend to volatilize or partly decompose on heating. 
4. The determination of the composition of the mineral matter in the water 
usually requires a complete chemical analysis of the total solids obtained by 
the evaporation of 500 cubic centimeters or more of the water and is not gen- 
erally undertaken except when the percentage of total solids is large or the 
water appears to give abnormal tests in other respects. 
5. A comparison of the given water with distilled water can be obtained by 
making standard soundness, time-of-setting, and 1:3 mortar-strength tests with 
standard sand, using the same cement of standard quality with each water. 
( Suggested limits for the last-named tests are as follows : Any indication of 
unsoundness, marked change in time of setting, or a variation of more than 
10 per cent in strength from results obtained with mixtures containing the 
water of satisfactory quality shall be sufficient cause for rejection of the water 
under test.) 
27. METHOD OF TEST FOR SIEVE ANALYSIS OF 
AGGREGATES FOR CONCRETE 9 
(A. S. T. M. standard method (.'/), serial designation C 41-24. except as indicated. See 
P- 1) 
1. A representative test sample of the aggregate shall be selected by quarter- 
ing or by use of a sampler which, after drying, will give not less than the 
following: 
(a) Fine aggregate [500 grams]. From 100 to 500 gram samples, depending 
upon the coarseness of the sand. 
Note. — When samples contain more than 2 per cent silt, it is ''commended that an 
elutriation test be made prior to and on the same sample as the sieve analysis. 
(b) Coarse aggregate or a mixture of fine and coarse aggregates, weight in 
grams. 3.000 times the size of the largest sieve required, measured in inches. 
Table 3. 
-Requirement* for sieve openings and wire diameters with permissible 
variations 1 
Sieve number or size in 
inches 
Sieve opening 
Milli- 
meters 
Inches 
Wire diameter 
Tolerance (per cent) 
Milli- 
meters 
Wire diameter 
Inches ^JS 
opening 
Under Over °P emn 8 
Maxi- 
mum 
No. 100 (149 microns). 
No. 50 (297 microns) . 
No. 30 (590 microns).. 
No. 16 (1,190 microns) 
No. 8 (2,380 microns). 
No. 4 (4,760 microns). 
M-inch 
M-inch 
1-inch 
]J^-inch 
2-inch 
3-inch 
0.149 
. 297 
.59 
1.19 
2.38 
4.76 
9.5 
19.0 
26. 4 
38.0 
50.8 
76.0 
0.0059 
.0117 
.0232 
. 0469 
.0937 
.187 
.375 
.75 
1.00 
1.50 
2.00 
3.00 
0.102 
.188 
.33 
.54 
.84 
1.27 
2.33 
3.42 
4.12 
4.50 
4.88 
6.3 
0.0040 
.0074 
.0130 
.0213 
.0331 
.050 
.092 
.135 
.162 
.177 
.192 
.25 
±6 
±6 
±5 
±3 
±3 
±3 
±3 
=*=! 
±3 
±3 
±3 
±3 
35 
35 
30 
30 
30 
30 
10 
10 i 
10 
10 
10 
10 
1 The dimensions and tolerances for these sieves conform to the requirements of the standard specifi- 
cations for sieves for testing purposes (serial designation E 11) of the American Society lor Testing Ma- 
terials (5, p. 789). 
13 This method is intended primarily for use in connection with the sieve analysis of 
either coarse aggregates or mixtures of fine and coarse aggregates for various types of 
road construction, including concrete, when the sizes larger than No. $ are specified on 
the basis of sieves with square openings. 
