GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING (Atterberg’s Limits)

CONSISTENCY LIMITS (Atterberg’s Limits)  SHRINKAGE LIMIT, SL

Soil shrinks as moisture is gradually lost from
 LIQUID LIMIT, LL – moisture content
it. With continuing loss of moisture, a stage
required to close a distance along the
of equilibrium is reached at which more loss
bottom of the groove at 25 blows using the
of moisture will result no further volume
Liquid Limit device or Casagrande.
change. The moisture content, in percent, at
which the volume of the soil mass ceases to
change, is defined as the shrinkage limit.
𝒎 𝟏 − 𝒎 𝟐 𝑽𝟏 − 𝑽𝟐
𝑺𝑳 = − 𝝆𝒘
𝒎𝟐 𝒎𝟐
m1 = mass of saturated soil
m2 = mass of oven – dried soil
ρw = density of water
V1 = volume of saturated soil
V2 = volume of oven – dried soil

 SOIL INDICES

Index Definition

Plasticity 𝐏𝐈 = 𝐋𝐋 − 𝐏𝐋

Liquidity 𝛚 − 𝐏𝐋
𝐋𝐈 =
𝐋𝐋 − 𝐏𝐋

Consistency 𝐋𝐋 − 𝛚
𝐂𝐈 =
𝐋𝐋 − 𝐏𝐈

Shrinkage 𝐒𝐈 = 𝐏𝐋 − 𝐒𝐋

Flow FI = slope of the flow line

 LIQUID LIMIT, LL – the moisture content at
which a standard cone of apex of 30° and Toughness 𝐏𝐈
𝐓𝐈 =
weight of 0.78N will penetrate a distance 𝐅𝐈
d=20mm in 5 seconds when allowed to
drop from a position of point of contact
with the soil surface.
DESCRIPTION OF SOIL BASED ON
PLASTICITY INDEX
PI Description
0 Non – plastic
1-5 Slightly Plastic
5-10 Low Plasticity
10-20 Medium Plasticity
20-40 High Plasticity
> 40 Very High Plasticity
 GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING (Atterberg’s Limits)

Problem 1:
Given the laboratory results of the Atterberg’s
Flow Curve
Limits Tests in Figure 1. Plot the water content
60
Figure 2
versus the number of blows in Figure 2.
1. Determine the nearest value of the Liquid
Limit of soil. 55
2. Determine the nearest value of the Plastic

Water Content (%)

Limit of the soil.
3. Determine the nearest value of the Liquidity 50

Index of the soil.

A. Liquid Limit 45
Test Number 1 2 3 4
Number of 38 29 20 14 40
Blows
Weight of 22.47 21.29 21.27 26.12
wet soil + 35
Container, g
Weight of 19.44 18.78 18.75 22.10
30 110 20 30 40 50 607080
dry soil +
Container, g Number of blows – Logarithmic Scale
Weight of 12.74 13.24 13.2 13.27
Container, g
Weight of
Water, g
Weight of
Dry Soil, g
Water
Content, %
A. Plastic Limit and Natural Water Content
Plastic Limit Natural Water
Content
Test Number 1 2 3 4
Weight of wet soil 23.20 22.80 17.53 16.97
+ Container, g
Weight of dry soil 20.42 20.19 14.84 14.36
+ Container, g
Weight of 12.90 12.95 9.50 9.55
Container, g
Weight of Water, g
Weight of Dry Soil,
g
Water Content, %
Average, %

Figure 1
 GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING (Atterberg’s Limits)

Problem 2: Problem 3:
The results of the Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit tests 1. A shrinkage limit test on a clay soil gave the
are shown in Figure 3. following data.
Weight of shrinkage dish and saturated soil
Plastic Limit Test
cake = 38.78 g
Weight of Moist Soil (g) Weight of Oven – Dried Soil (g)
Weight of shrinkage dish and oven dry soil
128.6 105.4
141.4 116.8 cake = 30.46 g
132.6 109.6 Weight of shrinkage dish = 10.65 g
134.6 111.2 Volume of shrinkage dish = 16.29 cc
136.0 113.4 Total Volume of oven dried soil cake = 10 cc
Determine the shrinkage limit of soil.
2. Determine shrinkage ratio and specific gravity
Liquid Limit Test of soil solids.
28 M2 1
SR = Gs = 1 S
24 V2 𝜌𝜔 − L
SR 100
Cone Penetration (mm)

22

20

18

16

14

40 45 50 55 60 65
Moisture Content
Problem 4:
1. Determine the Plastic Limit (PL) of the soil.
A soil has Plasticity Index=18,Liquid Limit=65
2. Determine the Liquid Limit of the soil.
Find the shrinkage limit of the soil.
3. Determine the Plasticity Index of the soil.