lndex and Claslllcailon Properllee of Sollr

40

Fig.

2.9

(a) Undisturbed and (b) thoroughly remolded sarnple of

Leda clay from Ottawa, Ontaro' (Photograph courtesy of the

DivisionofBuildingBesearch'NationatResearchCouncilof

Canada. Hand bY D. C. MacMillan-)

undisturbed and remolded states at the same water content' The undisturbed sample can carry a vertical stress of more than I00 kPa;'when
thoroughly remotded, it behaves like a liquid'
It wasn't emphasized previously, but the limits are conducted on
thoroughly remolded soils, and when we discuss the structure of clays in
Chaptei 4, we will see that the natural structure of a soil very strongly
governs its engineering behavior. So then how come the Atterberg limits
work? They work empirically; that is, they correlate with engineering
nd behavior because both the Atterberg limils iznd the engineerproperties
'ing'properties
are alfecred by the same things. Some of these "things" include
the-clay minerals, the ions in the pore water, the stress history of the soil
deposii etc. And these factors are discussed in detail in the chapter on soil
structure (chapter 4). For now, just accept that these very simple, arbitrary, and empirical Atterberg limits are most useful in classifying soils for
engineering purposs and that they correlate quite well with the engineering behavior of soils^