Answers to Questions

1. How important is the hand pressure applied to the soil thread?

To get the right consistency of the clay while it’s been rolled.

2. When do you know that the soil is plastic enough to be formed into thin threads?

The plastic limit can easily be found by rolling a small soil sample into thin threads until it

crumbles. The water content at which the threads break at approximately 3 mm in diameter

is the plastic limit. Two or more tests are made and the average water content is taken as

plastic limit. In this test, soil will break at smaller diameter when wet and breaks in larger

diameter when dry.

3. How will you compare the strength and properties of a soil in plastic state to their

soils in liquid, semisolid and solid states?

Between the solid and semisolid states is shrinkage limit, between semisolid and plastic

states is plastic limit, and between plastic and liquid states is liquid limit.

4. What measures the range of plastic deformation of soils and what is its importance

in the study of soil mechanics?

Consistency is the term used to describe the ability of the soil to resist rupture and

deformation. It is commonly describing as soft, stiff or firm, and hard. Water content greatly

affects the engineering behavior of fine-grained soils. In the order of increasing moisture

content, a dry soil will exist into four distinct states: from solid state, to semisolid state, to

plastic state, and to liquid state.

Introduction
This method describes a procedure of determining the lowest water content at

which a soil can be rolled in to threads 3.2mmin diameter without crumbling. Soil

consistency is the strength with which soil materials are held together or the resistance of

soils to deformation and rupture.

Principles of the Experiment

Soil consistency is measured for wet, moist and dry soil samples. For wet soils, it is

expressed as both stickiness and plasticity, as defined below. Soil consistency may be

estimated in the field using simple tests or may be measured more accurately in the

laboratory. An Atterberg Limit corresponds to the moisture content at which a soil sample

changes from one consistency to another. Two of the Atterberg Limits are of interest for

aquaculture, the liquid limit and the plastic limit.

Interpretation of Result

The water content at which the soil begins to crumble when rolled into threads of specified

size. The Plastic Limit, also known as the lower plastic limit, is the water content at which

a soil changes from the plastic state to a semisolid state. Plastic Limit ‑ the water content,

in percent, of a soil at the boundary between the plastic and semi‑solid states. It is defined

as “The moisture content at which the soil behaves like a plastic material is called plastic

limit.” It may also be defined as “The moisture content at which the soil changes from

plastic state to semi solid state," or “The moisture content at which the soil begins to

crumble when rolled up into a thread of 3 mm in diameter.” The plasticity index is a

measure of the plasticity of a soil. The plasticity index is the size of the range of water

contents where the soil exhibits plastic properties.

Application

The Atterberg limits of soils are very important in construction. Prior to construction works

expansive soils must be stabilized to provide adequate support for roads and buildings.

There are many methods for stabilizing soil to gain required engineering specifications.

These methods range from mechanical to chemical stabilization, but the most affective

are chemical methods. Lime stabilization has been used extensively in high plasticity soils.

The addition of lime results in several stabilizing reactions. The solubility of silica increases

in alkaline environment and silica becomes available as a cementing agent.

Cement sets and hardens independently and can bind other materials together. It has high

compressive strength. Cement reduces plasticity and the potential for volume change, as

well as increases shear strength. It’s not effective for soils containing highly plastic clays.

Furthermore, cement stabilization is costly and requires high degree of quality control.

Because of changes in volume which happen due to cement hydration, early shrinkage

cracks can occur in soil-cement layers. Huge issue nowadays associated with use of lime

and cement is their extremely high carbon footprint.

Conclusions

From the conducted experiment, it can be said that the values of these limits are

used in many ways. There is also a close relationship between the limits and properties

of a soil such as compressibility, permeability, and strength. This is thought to be very

useful because as limit determination is relatively simple, it is more difficult to determine

these other properties. Thus, the Atterberg limits are not only used to identify the soil's

classification, but it allows for the use of empirical correlations for some other engineering

properties.
References

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atterberg_limits#Plasticity_index

 http://www.aboutcivil.org/atterberg-limits.html

 http://www.engineeringcivil.com/determine-the-plastic-limit-of-soil.html

 https://globalroadtechnology.com/atterberg-limits/

 https://www.mathalino.com/reviewer/geotechnical-engineering/consistency-soil-

atterberg-limits

 ftp://ftp.fao.org/fi/cdrom/fao_training/fao_training/general/x6706e/x6706e08.htm

 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169131710003601