IS 460-compliant test sieves in brass and stainless steel — 4.75 mm to 75 µm — for aggregate gradation testing per IS 2386, IS 383, and MORTH specifications.
An IS Sieve Set is a collection of standardised test sieves manufactured per IS 460 (Part 1) used for particle size distribution analysis of aggregates, soil, and granular materials in civil and geotechnical engineering laboratories. Each sieve consists of a round woven wire mesh of a specified aperture size, stretched over and secured into a circular frame (typically 200 mm or 300 mm diameter in brass or stainless steel). A set covers the size range from 4.75 mm down to 75 micrometres, allowing the full gradation of fine and coarse aggregates to be determined by mechanically separating the sample through the nested sieves.
Sieve analysis is one of the most fundamental quality control tests in civil construction — it verifies that the aggregate used in concrete, bituminous mix, or sub-base material meets the grading specification required by the design. In Northeast India, where MORTH specifications govern all national highway work, IS 2386 and IS 383 govern aggregate and sand testing, and state PWD specifications reference IS 460 sieves throughout, this test is conducted daily at site laboratories and regional material testing centres.
Road and highway construction site laboratories are the largest users — a site lab on an NHIDCL or NHAI project in Assam, Meghalaya, or Arunachal Pradesh runs sieve analysis on every aggregate source and every material change during construction. Concrete batching plants conduct daily gradation checks on their coarse and fine aggregate to monitor for changes in the quarry output that would affect mix design performance.
Government material testing laboratories — the Assam State Material Testing Laboratory, district PWD labs, and NHIDCL regional labs — maintain complete sieve sets for acceptance testing of materials from contractor-submitted quarry sources. Third-party QA and QC agencies working on large projects conduct independent sieve analysis to verify contractor data.
Engineering colleges and polytechnics across the Northeast use IS sieve sets in Civil Engineering laboratory practicals to demonstrate particle size distribution — a core experiment in the Soil Mechanics and Building Materials laboratory subjects.
The IS sieve set works alongside a motorised sieve shaker for efficient large-batch testing, a balance with 0.1 g readability for weighing fractions, a sample splitter for reducing large field samples, and the Marshall Stability Apparatus and Los Angeles abrasion machine for complete aggregate characterisation. All are available from Multi Trade Combines' Civil Lab Equipment range.
| Category | Civil Lab Equipment |
|---|---|
| Key specs | 4.75 mm – 75 µm, brass & SS |
| Standard | IS 460 (Part 1) — Test Sieves, Wire Cloth |
| Size range | 4.75 mm down to 75 µm (standard aggregate set) |
| Frame material | Brass or stainless steel, 200 mm / 300 mm dia |
| Application | Aggregate grading per IS 2386 / IS 383 / MORTH |
| Availability | In stock — price on request |
IS sieves follow IS 460 (Part 1): Specification for Test Sieves — Wire Cloth. The standard gradation set for aggregate testing per IS 2386 (Methods of Test for Aggregates for Concrete) includes sieve sizes from 80 mm down to 75 microns. For fine aggregate (sand) grading per IS 383, the relevant sieves are: 4.75 mm, 2.36 mm, 1.18 mm, 600 µm, 300 µm, and 150 µm, plus a 75 µm sieve for fines content. We stock complete sets in brass frame or stainless steel frame, and individual replacement sieves of any size. Specify the standard and application when ordering.
IS sieves should be inspected visually before every test for damaged wire, holes, or distorted frames. Formal dimensional verification against IS 460 wire diameter and aperture tolerances should be done annually or after any event that may have damaged the sieve (dropping, use of metal tools on the mesh, sieving of hard angular aggregate at high loading). In NABL-accredited labs, the calibration interval is specified in the QMS and is typically 12 months. Replace sieves where the mesh is distorted, torn, or shows aperture sizes outside the IS 460 tolerance — a damaged sieve gives sieving results that cannot be used for quality certification.