Determination of - and standards for - frac sand specs are outlined in API RP 19C: “Measurement of Properties of Proppants Used in Hydraulic Fracturing and Gravel-packing Operations”. The standards detail the following frac sand testing procedures to determine if frac sand meets accepted specs:
With any raw, prospective frac sand sample, analysis of the frac sand sample begins with sieve testing to determine how much of the sand falls within typical frac sand size designations. The frac sand is run through a stack of defined ASTM sieves to give a detailed size distribution of the sand determining which products could be developed out of a prospective source.
Historically, common mesh sizes were 20/40 and 30/50 frac sand products, but there’s has been an increasing demand for finer grade frac sands meeting 40/70 and 70/140 specs. “100 mesh” is a common product, but the frac sand specs for this product are not defined in the API standards. It could refer to a defined 70/140 product or something a bit coarser such as 50/140 or 40/140 (i.e. “Heavy” 100 mesh).
When it comes to determining if an actual frac sand product meets accepted frac sand specs, at least 90% of the frac sand must fall within the marketed mesh size.
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