Particle Size Distribution Methods as adopted for Different Materials

Abstract

Information on particle size, shape, porosity, and pore distribution of constituent materials are very important for choice and their appropriate use in construction. The known methods available for particle size distribution (PSD) are appropriate for materials of the specific size range, shape, nature, and distribution with improved techniques emerging with the advent of computer application in construction. Analysis of materials of varied grain sizes, shape, nature done by three methods of particular PSD (mechanical sieving, laser diffraction, and CT-scanning) was reported in this paper for an assessment of their appropriateness and effectiveness for specific material. The study revealed mechanical sieving as effective for granular materials of 45 µm to 125 mm size range, the laser diffraction was noted to be suitable for materials of fine particles but gives inadequate results when adopted for very fine materials susceptible to particle agglomeration. The CT- scanning on the other hand is noted to be adequate for PSD analysis of materials having medium to coarse size classification giving more definitive data on actual shape, distribution, and volume of the material’s particle. CT scanning also gave results that are comparable to the laser PSD analysis when adopted for finer materials. The study concludes that required details and specific characteristics of the materials of concern should govern the choice of PSD methods and a call is made for good knowledge of available techniques by operators and investments in digital and recent equipment by our Institutions for improved outputs in materials research.