The water contents that correspond to

the boundaries between the states of

consistency.
Almost like a phase change but not as
abrupt, these states change gradually. A
specific testing method provides an
arbitrary value to mark as the limit in
order to establish consistent
comparisons.

We can not properly classify a soil on grain

size distribution alone (sieve analysis)
USCS uses sieve analysis and Atterberg
Limits
Mechanical and physical properties of soil
may change with moisture
Atterberg Limits allow us to classify the
plasticity and compressibility of the soil.
Atterberg limits use the portion of the soil
passing the #40 sieve.

The soil samples are usually completely

disturbed and remolded. Thus the
structure/fabric of the fines are altered
(usually made weaker) and the behavior
from the field (in situ) will change some.
Atterberg Limits still provide useful
information, but how a sample was
retrieved must be always considered.

From increasing moisture content:

Shrinkage Limit- solid to semi-solid state,

increase in volume starts
Plastic Limit semi-solid to plastic state
Liquid Limit- plastic to liquid state

Increase in moisture content decrease

the strength of fines (all things being =).

(Empirical)A- line separates

inorganic clays from
inorganic silts
U-Line is approximately
the upper limit of the
relationship of the PI to LL
for any currently know
soil
Plasticity and
compressibility increase as
you move up and right on
the chart

Used for LL testing

Calibrate a 10 mm cup fall height
Place a moist soil pat into the cup with a uniform
thickness of 8 mm
Use the cutting tool to cut a trench 2 mm wide at the
bottom and 11 mm wide at the top through the soil
pat
Count the blows required to cause a 12.5 mm (1/2)
long closer in the trench
Must have at least 3 data points between 15 and 30
blows
LL is the water content at which 25 blows achieves
the 12.5 mm closer, may interpolate

British Standard to determine LL

Uses a 80 g cone, 35 mm in length, with an
apex angle of 30
Placed with tip just touching soil surface of
a 55 mm diameter and 40 mm high soil
sample.
Allowed to push into soil for 5 seconds
3 trails needed(start with low water content)
LL is the moisture content where the cone
falls 20 mm into the soil in 5 seconds

Moisture content at which a thread of

soil will just crumble when rolled to a
diameter of 3.2 mm (1/8 in.)

See handout