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Atterberg limits
The Atterberg limits are a basic measure of the critical water contents of a fine-grained soil: its shrinkage limit, plastic limit, and liquid limit.

Depending on its water content, a soil may appear in one of four states: solid, semi-solid, plastic and liquid. In each state, the consistency and behavior of a soil is different and
consequently so are its engineering properties. Thus, the boundary between each state can be defined based on a change in the soil's behavior. The Atterberg limits can be used
to distinguish between silt and clay, and to distinguish between different types of silts and clays.The water content at which the soils changes from one state to the other are
known as consistency limits or Atterberg's limit.

These limits were created by Albert Atterberg, a Swedish agriculturists in 1911.[1] They were later refined by Arthur Casagrande.

Distinctions in soil are used in assessing the soils that are to have structures built on them. Soils when wet retain water, and some expand in volume. The amount of expansion
is related to the ability of the soil to take in water and its structural make-up (the type of atoms present). These tests are mainly used on clayey or silty soils since these are the
soils that expand and shrink due to moisture content. Clays and silts react with the water and thus change sizes and have varying shear strengths. Thus these tests are used
widely in the preliminary stages of designing any structure to ensure that the soil will have the correct amount of shear strength and not too much change in volume as it
expands and shrinks with different moisture contents.

Contents
Laboratory tests
Shrinkage limit
Plastic limit
Liquid limit
Casagrande's Method
Cone Penetrometer Test

Derived limits
Plasticity index
Liquidity index
Consistency index
Activity
Notes
References
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Laboratory tests

Shrinkage limit
The shrinkage limit (SL) is the water content where further loss of moisture will not result in any more volume reduction.[2] The test to determine the shrinkage limit is ASTM
International D4943. The shrinkage limit is much less commonly used than the liquid and plastic limits.

Plastic limit
The Plastic Limit (PL) is determined by rolling out a thread of the fine portion of a soil on a flat, non-porous surface. The procedure is defined in ASTM Standard D 4318. If
the soil is at a moisture content where its behavior is plastic, this thread will retain its shape down to a very narrow diameter. The sample can then be remolded and the test
repeated. As the moisture content falls due to evaporation, the thread will begin to break apart at larger diameters.

The plastic limit is defined as the moisture content where the thread breaks apart at a diameter of 3.2 mm (about 1/8 inch). A soil is considered non-plastic if a thread cannot
be rolled out down to 3.2 mm at any moisture possible.

Liquid limit
The liquid limit (LL) is conceptually defined as the water content at which the behavior of a clayey soil changes from the plastic state to the liquid state. However, the
transition from plastic to liquid behavior is gradual over a range of water contents, and the shear strength of the soil is not actually zero at the liquid limit. The precise
definition of the liquid limit is based on standard test procedures described below.

Casagrande's Method
Atterberg's original liquid limit test involved mixing a pat of clay in a round-bottomed porcelain bowl of 10–12 cm diameter. A groove was cut through the pat of clay with a
spatula, and the bowl was then struck many times against the palm of one hand. Casagrande subsequently standardized the apparatus and the procedures to make the
measurement more repeatable. Soil is placed into the metal cup (Casagrande cup) portion of the device and a groove is made down at its center with a standardized tool of 2
millimetres (0.079 in) width. The cup is repeatedly dropped 10 mm onto a hard rubber base at a rate of 120 blows per minute, during which the groove closes up gradually as a
result of the impact. The number of blows for the groove to close is recorded. The moisture content at which it takes 25 drops of the cup to cause the groove to close over a
distance of 12.7 millimetres (0.50 in) is defined as the liquid limit. The test is normally run at several moisture contents, and the moisture content which requires 25 blows to
close the groove is interpolated from the test results. The liquid limit test is defined by ASTM standard test method D 4318.[3] The test method also allows running the test at
one moisture content where 20 to 30 blows are required to close the groove; then a correction factor is applied to obtain the liquid limit from the moisture content.[4]

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Cone Penetrometer Test

Another method for measuring the liquid limit is the fall cone test, also called the cone penetrometer test. It is based on the
measurement of penetration into the soil of a standardized stainless steel cone of specific apex angle, length and mass. Although
the Casagrande test is widely used across North America, the fall cone test is much more prevalent in Europe due to being less
dependent on the operator in determining the Liquid Limit.[5]

Advantages over Casagrande Method

It is easier to perform in laboratory.

The results from the cone penetrometer don't depend on the judgement of the operator. so, the results obtained are more
reliable.

Derived limits
The values of these limits are used in a number of 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 Casagrande cup in action
classification, but it allows for the use of empirical correlations for some other engineering properties.

Plasticity index
The plasticity index (PI) 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. The PI is
the difference between the liquid limit and the plastic limit (PI = LL-PL). Soils with a high PI tend to be clay, those with a lower PI tend to be silt, and those with a PI of 0
(non-plastic) tend to have little or no silt or clay.

Soil descriptions based on PI:[6]

(0)- Nonplastic
(<7) - Slightly plastic
(7-17) - Medium plastic
>17 - Highly plastic

Liquidity index
The liquidity index (LI) is used for scaling the natural water content of a soil sample to the limits. It can be calculated as a ratio of difference between natural water content,
plastic limit, and liquid limit: LI=(W-PL)/(LL-PL) where W is the natural water content.

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Consistency index
The consistency index (CI) indicates the consistency (firmness) of a soil. It is calculated as CI = (LL-W)/(LL-PL), where W is the existing water content. Soil at the liquid
limit will have a consistency index of 0, while soil at the plastic limit will have a consistency index of 1.

Activity
The activity (A) of a soil is the PI divided by the percent of clay-sized particles (less than 2 μm) present. Different types of clays have different specific surface areas which
controls how much wetting is required to move a soil from one phase to another such as across the liquid limit or the plastic limit. From the activity, one can predict the
dominant clay type present in a soil sample. High activity signifies large volume change when wetted and large shrinkage when dried. Soils with high activity are very reactive
chemically.

Normally the activity of clay is between 0.75 and 1.25, and in this range clay is called normal. It is assumed that the plasticity index is approximately equal to the clay fraction
(A = 1). When A is less than 0.75, it is considered inactive. When it is greater than 1.25, it is considered active.

Notes
1. "Brief history of Swedish Soil Mechanics" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070325085501/http://www.geoforum.com/info/pileinfo/swedsoilmech.asp). Archived from the
original (http://www.geoforum.com/info/pileinfo/swedsoilmech.asp) on 2007-03-25. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
2. "Shrinkage Limit Test" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070102035454/http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/eng-manuals/em1110-2-1906/a-IIIB.pdf) (PDF). United
States Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original (http://www.usace.army.mil/publications////eng-manuals/em1110-2-1906/a-IIIB.pdf) (PDF) on 2007-01-02.
Retrieved 2006-12-21.
3. "ASTM D4318 - 10 Standard Test Methods for Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity Index of Soils" (http://www.astm.org/Standards/D4318.htm). ASTM. 2010.
Retrieved 2011-02-18.
4. "trid.trb.org" (http://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=38900).
5. BS 1377 part 2
6. Sowers, 1979

References
Soil Physical Properties--Mechanics (http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~doetqp-p/courses/env320/lec7/Lec7.html)
Seed, H.B. (1967). "Fundamental Aspects of the Atterberg Limits". Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundations Div., 92(SM4), Retrieved from http://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?
id=38900
Das, B. M. (2006). Principles of geotechnical engineering. Stamford,CT: Thomson Learning College.
Sowers, 1979. Introductory Soil Mechanics and Foundations: Geotechnical Engineering, 4th Ed., Macmillan, New York. (as referenced in Coduto, 1999. Geotechnical
Engineering: Principles and Practices. Prentice Hall. New Jersey.)
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