In the previous article we covered Particle Size Analysis. This measurement, especially when done with Laser Diffraction Analysis (LDA), can generate a substantial amount of data. Most of it is superfluous, and the purpose of this article is to provide guidelines on how to sift (pun intended) through the data and pull out what is of use in designing a Facilities Sand Management system.
Data Format for Analysis
Computer driven analysis, like LDA, tends to provide graphical data output. However tabular data is needed for calculation and analysis – so set aside the pretty graphs and get the data in a format you can import into a spreadsheet. The output below looks sophisticated, but does not allow the user to do any reasonable calculations with the results. Get the data into a table that shows Individual Size/Wt. % – a breakdown of each size range and the amount within that range.