PLASTIC LIMIT TEST

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this experiment, students should be able to:

● Conduct the plastic limit experiment.
● Identify the plastic limit value for soil.
● Identify the importance and application of plastic limit test.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The plastic limit is defined as the moisture content at which soil begins to
behave as a plastic material. A plastic material can be molded into a shape and
the material will retain that shape. If the moisture content is below the plastic
limit, it is considered to behave as a solid, or a non-plastic material.

1.2 OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this experiment are to determine the lowest moisture content
at which the soil behaves plastically.

1.3 THEORY

Plastic limit (P w) of soil is defined as the water content at which a soil will just
begin to crumble when rolled into a thread of approximately 3 mm in diameter. It
is water content at the boundary between the plastic and semi-solid states of
consistency of the soil. Plasticity index (PI or I​P​) is the numerical difference of

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the liquid and plastic limit, and indicates the range of water content through
which the soil remains plastic.
PI = LL – PL
For fine grained soils, determining the natural water content (the water content
of a soil in an undisturbed condition in the ground) and relating it to the plastic
and liquid limits can provide an indication of the soil’s consistency and/or
sensitivity potential. One such relationship is the liquidity index.

Consistency index is defined as the ratio of the liquid limit minus the natural
water content to the plasticity index of a soil.

Table 1.1: Classification of soil according to plasticity.

Plasticity Index (I​​P Degree of Plasticity Type of Soil
or PI)
0 Non-Plastic Sand
<7 Low-Plastic Silt
7-17 Medium Plastic Silty clay or clayey silt
> 17 Highly Plastic Clay

Table 1.2: Classification of soil according to liquidity indices.

Liquidity Index (I​​L​​ or LI) Consistency
< 0.0 Desiccated (dry) hard soil
0.0-0.25 Stiff
0.25-0.50 Medium to soft
0.50-0.75 Soft
0.75-1.00 Very soft
>1.00 Liquid s

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1.4 APPARATUS

1. The most important piece of apparatus for this test is the hand of operator,
which should be clean and free from grease.
2. Evaporating dish.
3. A separate glass plate reserved for rolling of threads. This should be
smooth and free from scratches, and about 300 mm square and 10mm
thick. The surface condition of the plate can affect the behaviour of rolled
threads, and the use of unscratched glass reduces the likelihood of
discrepancies. An alternative is to reserve one side of the mixing plate for
thread rolling, and avoid mixing the soil on this area.
4. Two palette knives or spatulas.
5. A short length (say 100 mm) of 3mm diameter metal rod.
6. Standard moisture content apparatus (container, balance and oven)

Figure 1.1: Apparatus for plastic limit test

1.5 PROCEDURES

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1. Selection and preparation of sample
(a) Take about 20 g of the prepared soil paste and spread it on the glass
mixing plate.
(b) Mix occasionally to avoid local drying out.
(c) It is convenient to set aside this sample just before carrying out the
liquid limit test.

Figure 1.2: Prepared soil paste.

2. Rolling into a Ball

(a) When the soil is plastic enough, it is well kneaded and then shaped
into a ball.
(b) When slight cracks begin to appear on the surface, divide the ball into
two portions each of about 10 g.
(c) Further divide each into four equal parts, but keep each set of four
parts together.

Figure 1.3: Rolling into ball and four equal part of soil after divide.

3. Rolling into a Threads

(a) Using a steady pressure, roll this mass into a thread between the
fingers of one hand and the surface of the glass plate.

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 (b) The pressure should reduce the diameter of the thread from 6 mm to
about 3 mm after between five and ten back-and-forth movements of
the hand.
(c) It is important to maintain a uniform rolling pressure throughout; do not
reduce pressure as the thread approaches 3 mm diameter.
(d) Dry the soil further by moulding between the fingers again, not by
continued rolling which gives a dried crust.
(e) Form it into a thread and roll out again as before.
(f) Repeat this procedure until the thread crumbles when it has been
rolled to 3 mm diameter.
(g) The metal rod serves as a reference for gauging this diameter.
(h) The first crumbling point is the plastic limit

Figure 1.4: The soil specimen is rolled under the fingers into a thread 3 mm
diameter.

4. Moisture content measurement

This is placed in a numbered moisture content container, which is weighed,
oven dried and weighed as in the standard moisture content procedure
according to BS 1377: Part 2: 1990.
(a) Weight the empty moisture content container
(b) Take a moisture content sample of about 10 g from the area
penetrated by the cone, using the tip of a small spatula.
(c) Weight the wet sample
(d) Dry in the oven for about 24 hours (overnight)
(e) Weight the dry sample

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 Figure 1.5: Process to take moisture content.
1.6 CALCULATION EXAMPLE

1. Results Calculation and plotting

(a) The moisture content of the soil from each penetration reading is
calculated from the wet and dry weighing as in the moisture content
test.
(b) The plastic limit and plasticity index are usually reported with the liquid
limit.
Table 1: Example of Data Sheet.

Location : RECESS Loc. No. : 00123

Soil description: Silty CLAY Sample No. : 6
Sample type : Undisturbed Depth of Sample : 1.5 m
Operator: A . Z. S Date Started :

Test Number Unit 1 2 3 4

s
Can Number 11 21 32 41
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 Mass of can + moist soil gram 46.76 57.20 63.60 71.72
​ ​)
(M​cws​
Mass of can + dry soil (M​​cs) gram 32.51 38.31 41.64 45.78
Mass of can (M​c​​ ​) gram 8.31 8.35 8.26 8.29
Mass of dry soil (M​​s​)​ gram 24.20 29.96 33.38 37.49
Mass of water (M​​w​​) gram 14.25 18.89 21.96 25.94
Water content % 58.88 63.05 65.79 69.19
Plastic limit % 64.27
Calculation of moisture content;

1.7 REFERENCES

1. Das, Braja M., 2014. “Principles of geotechnical engineering”: Cengage

Learning. (TA710 .D37 2014)
2. Morris, A., 2012. “Geotechnical engineering of soil”: Auris Reference.
(TA705 .G49 2012)
3. Braja, M.D., 2010. “Principle of Geotechnical Engineering”: McGrawHill.
(TA710.D37 2010)
4. Cheng Liu & Jack B. Evett, 2008. “Soils and Foundations”: Prentice Hall.
(TA710.L58 2008)

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1.8 ADDITIONAL THEORY

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(10 marks)

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1.9 DATA
Data Sheet
Location : Loc. No. :
Soil description: Sample No. :
Sample type : Depth of Sample : m
Operator: Date Started :

Test Number Unit 1 2 3 4

s
Can Number
Mass of can + moist soil gram
(M​​cws​)​
Mass of can + dry soil (M​​cs) gram
Mass of can (M​​c​)​ gram
Mass of dry soil (M​s​​ ​) gram
Mass of water (M​​w​​) gram
Water content %
Plastic limit %

Plastic limit =​ ​%
Liquid limit =​ ​%
Plasticity index = Liquid Limit – Plastic Limit = ​ ​%

(25 marks)

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1.10 ANALYSIS & RESULT

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(25 marks)
1.11 QUESTION & DISCUSSION

1. What is the definition of plastic limit?

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2. A sample of wet clay and its container weigh 102 g. After oven drying the
sample and the container weigh 60 g. What is the water content and
plastic limit for the soil?

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3. What is the different between liquid limit and plastic limit?

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 4. A sample of wet clay weighs 176 g. After oven drying the sample weigh
60 g and its container is 7.32 g. What is the water content and plastic limit
for the soil?

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5. Discussion
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(15 marks)

1.12 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION

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1.13 REFERENCES

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(5 marks)

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