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A new Soil Constant and its Applications
Une nouvelle constante du sol et son application
by M. P. P. d o s S a n t o s , C hief Engineer, Laboratorio de Ensaios de M aterials e M ecanica do Solo (C.P. 2 6 8 ), Lourenço Mar­
ques, Portuguese East Africa
Summary
The use of a new soil constant, related to the sand fraction of the
grain-size distribution curve, has proved itself a valuable tool so far
as some classical soil mechanics problems are concerned. This paper
presents preliminary results related to the correlation between Atter-
berg limits and the grain-size distribution curve, the mixture of soils,
the identification and classification o f soils, and the specifications
for granular stabilisation.
In trod u ction
In connection with research in progress on som e soil stabili­
sation problems, a new soil constant was introduced by the
author (dos Santos, 1950, 1951). This constant is related to the
grain-size distribution curve through the expression:
where y = the ordinates (percentages passing) o f the grain-size
distribution curve, corresponding to N o . 200, 100,
52, 25, 14 and 7 B.S. sieves (or the equivalent
A .S.T .M . sieves);
n = the number o f such ordinates (six).
It may be easily proved that the a-constant is proportional
to the area lim ited by the grain-size distribution curve, the
y = 0 axis and the N o . 200 and 7 sieves ordinates (sand
fraction o f the soil). A bram s (1918), in the concept o f fineness
modulus for concrete agregates, and Turnbull (1948) used the
area over the curve, with different boundaries. Burmeister
(1938) used the area under the curve, also with different
boundaries.
The quotient:
o f the percentage (divided by 100) passing N o . 200 sieve, by the
a-constant plays an im portant part in the follow ing results.
Session 1/11
Sommaire
Dans cette communication sont présentés les premiers résultats
de recherches portant sur l’application d’une nouvelle constante des
sols, liée au diagramme granulométrique. Cette constante a permis
le traitement de quelques problèmes classiques de la mécanique des
sols, tels que la corrélation entre les limites d’Atterberg et la granulo-
métrie, le mélange des sols, l’identification et la classification des
différentes classes de sols et les spécifications concernant la stabili­
sation des sols.
Correlation between the Liquid Limit and the Plasticity
Index, and the Grain-Size Distribution Curve
A number o f attempts were m ade in the past in order to
correlate the liquid lim it and the plasticity index o f soils with
som e characteristics o f their particle-size distribution curve.
The work o f Cooling and Skem pton (1946), Clare (1948) and
Skem pton (1948) pointed out the multiform type o f correlation
existing between the Atterberg limits and the clay fraction in
soils. A s a matter o f fact, besides the size o f the particles, there
are other pertinent factors having a bearing on this problem;
namely, the mineralogy o f the clay fraction, the organic content,
the shape o f the grains, etc. The im portance o f research work
covering these points does not need to be em phasised; Terzaghi
and P eck (1948) state that “ the investigation o f statistical re­
lations between the Atterberg limits and the other properties
o f cohesive soils constitutes one o f the m ost prom ising fields
for research in soil ph ysics” . A t our laboratory, 353 samples
o f soils o f different origin, location and type were examined.
A t this stage o f investigation, no attem pt was made to sepa­
rate the influence o f the factors listed above; nevertheless, the
results obtained seem worthy o f careful consideration. Figs. 1
x
and 2 show L L and P I ploted against t = — . U sing the least
a
square m ethod, a curve o f the form
L L or P / = 4 i + b2t + b3 r2 ............................................... (3)
has been fitted to the experimental data. The determination
o f constants lead to the follow ing equations:
L L = 0.067 + 0.303 t + 0.309 t 2 . . (4)
47
P / = — 0.026 + 0.097 / + 0 .2 4 0 /2 (5)
It follow s that
P L = 0.093 + 0.206 t + 0.069 z 2 ...................................... ( 6)
A statistical study o f the frequency o f discrepancies between
theoretical and experim ental values is summarized in Figs. 3
and 4, for L L and PI, respectively. It may be pointed out that
87.7% o f the L L determ inations show a difference < 10 from
the values given by (4); in the case o f the PI, 84.1 % show a
difference < 6 from the values given by (5).
The correlation factor o f the curve fitting has been found to
be R = 0.988 for the L L , and R = 0.983 for the P I. (The cor-
U
relation factor has been taken as defined by R 2 = 1 --------
no2
LL
120 ---------- - |------------- --------------------------- --------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------

110 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

100

30

80

E R R O R S

F ig . 3 F requency o f D iscrep an cies B etw een T h eoretical an d E xp eri­

m en tal V alues o f th e L iquid L im it
F réq u en ce des différences entre les valeurs th éoriq u es e t expéri­
m entales de la lim ite de liq uidité

0 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.00 0.50 0,60 0.70 0.80 0,90 1,00 | = X / 3

Fig. 1 R elatio n Between L iquid L im it an d t

R elatio n en tre la lim ite de liquidité et t

t=x/a
E R R O R S

F ig. 4 F requency o f D iscrep an cies B etw een T h eoretical and E xperi­

m ental V alues o f th e Plasticity Index
Fig. 2 R ela tio n B etw een Plasticity Index and t Fréquence des différences entre les valeurs th éoriq u es e t expéri­
R ela tio n entre l’ind ice de p la sticité et t m entales de l’in d ice de plasticité

48
where U represents the sum o f the squares o f the residuals, From equations (4) and (5), a quadratic relation o f the form
n the number o f observations and a the standard deviation.) f ( L L , P I) = 0
All the soils showing residuals larger than 10 for the L L, and
may easily be derived.
than 6 for the P I were found to have a high organic con ­
If we plot this relationship in Fig. 5, we obtain a line that
tent. Other pertinent factors have not so far been investigated,
is but slightly different from line “A " o f the Plasticity Chart.
but the next step o f the research programme will take them into
In the research to be carried out, it will be examined whether
account. It is not unlikely that the introduction o f correction
the superposition o f the effects o f factors affecting L L and P I
factors may account for the observed discrepancies.
can account for the different types o f soils listed in the chart.

S oil M ixtures
In the everyday work o f a laboratory dealing with granular
stabilisation o f soils, the determ ination o f L L and P I o f m ix­
tures o f soils has a broad field o f application.
The problem was solved in previous works by the author
(dos Santos, 1950, 1951, in press), with an approxim ation belie­
ved to be sufficient for practical purposes. The L L , P L , S L ,
P I or F M E o f a mixture o f tw o soils are given by
-f- A 2a2K 2
K = (7)
A + A 2a2
where K = characteristic o f the mixture;
K x and K 2 = corresponding characteristics o f the soils
LIQUID LIMIT (L L )
to be mixed;
A l and A 2 = percentage by weight (divided by 100) o f Fig. 5 R elation B etw een L L and P I y after C asagrande and as D e d u c e d
from E quations (4) and (5)
the soils in the mixture;
R elation entre L L et IP d ’après C asagrande et dédu ite des éq u a­
a t and a 2 = the «-constants, as given by equation ( 1). tion s (4) e t (5)
The quadratic equation (7) is believed to represent a first
approximation to the problem. A s a matter o f fact, it holds
T h e C la ssifica tio n o f S oils
only if the correlations (3) assume a linear form. A s this is not
the case, we have There are many systems o f soil classification, none o f them
LL or P I = entirely sa tisfa cto ry . It was claimed by several investigators
(see, for instance, Turnbull, 1948) that the grain-size distribu­
A x1 1+ A x 22 1 1+ A 2x 2)2
(A x
— b 1 + è 2----- 1~ ¿3"T — ¿1 + -------------------1- ¿>3------------------- tion curve w ould provide a good basis for such a classification.
A 1a 1 + A 2a2 (A 1a 1+ A 2a 2)2
A number o f systems use together som e grain-size distribution
AxXi+A^n data and the values o f L L and PI. W ithin this type falls the
b1(A 1a1+A 2a2) + b2(A ^ + A 2x 2) + b3(A ^ -i-A2x 2)‘
A 1a 1+ A 2a2 H .B .R . classification, one o f the m ost widely used for road
= engineering purposes.
/il£7l + A 2Q2
In order to illustrate the possibilities that arise from the cor-
A 1a l (b1+ b 2----- b b3— ) A 2a2(b1 + b 2-----b b3— )
d- \ CL Cl 2 Cl^Cl

A^Qi -\-A2a 2
This w ould only be the sam e result as derived from (7) if we
, , *1 , x\ . , „ XiX , X2X , ._
had —t and —r instead o f ----- a n d -------. The difference:
fli «2 a& a 2a
h
A = — [ A ^ i t — t j + A 2x 2(t - Q] (8)
a
is generally negligible in the face o f (7). For instance, with
«i = 0.57, x 1 = 0.12, = 0.21, a 2 = 0.73, x 2 = 0.94, t2 = 0.78,
we obtain:
L L A = 0.03 = 3%
P I 11 = 0.02 = 2 %
The expressions obtained allow the analytical construction
of Bonnenfant’s diagrams (1948), and provide an efficient tool
for the study o f sandy mixtures o f soils and for the indirect
determination o f the Atterberg characteristics o f non-plastic
types o f soils.

The P lasticity C hart

The classical work by Casagrande (1947) introduced the re­
Fig. 6 D iagram for the C lassification o f S oils A ccord in g the H .B .R .
lation between L L and P I as an instument for the identifi­ System
cation o f cohesive soils. Fig. 5 presents the Plasticity Chart as D iagram m e pour la classification des sols selon la classification
used in Casagrande's classification. du H igh w ay R esearch Board

49
relation between Atterberg characteristics and grain-size data
the diagram shown in Fig. 6 has been drawn tentatively.
Taking axes a and x and remembering that t = x ja , it is
possible to place the boundaries o f the various groups o f soils.
A more fluid condition takes place with the four groups
A -2 -5 , A - 2 -6 , A - 5 and A - 6 , which show contradictory values
for L L and P I as derived from (4) and (5): The line t = 0.61
is a purely arbitrary line drawn as a mean between t = 0.55
and t = 0.67.
In spite o f the preliminary character o f the correlations (4)
and (5), it must be emphasised that the performance o f this
diagram for som e hundreds o f soils tested is stimulating.
T h e S ta b ilisa tio n o f S oils
It must be borne in mind that the main purpose o f the pro­
gramme o f research that led to the above results is its possible
application to soil stabilisation problems. In the section deal­
ing with soil mixtures, som e o f there applications were outlined.
M oreover, it is hoped that better understanding o f empirical
rules, like those used in American practice (namely, the
A .S.T .M . specifications (A .S.T .M ., 1949) (W artime R oad Pro­
blems)) may be achieved through the link form ed between Atter­
berg limits and grain-size data. The condition o f low organic
content, generally im posed for granular stabilisation, simpli­
fies the problem so far as this perturbing factor is concerned.
Figs. 7 and 8 show , in the diagram x — a, the boundaries
X e M ecanica do S o lo ” , Lourenço Marques, Portuguese East
0.70 -------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
0.60---------------------------------------------------------------------- --- t _058
0 5 0 ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------- ----------------
0.00
o o.io o.2o 030 o.uo o.5o 0,60 o.7o 0,80 0.90 loo a
F ig. 7 B oundaries o f U tiliza tio n o f S oils fo r Stabilized Surface-C ourses
Lim ites d ’utilisation de sols pour cou ch es d ’usure stabilisées
Fig. 8 B oundaries o f U tilization o f Soils for Stabilized B ase-C ourses
L im ites d’utilisation de sols pour cou ch es de fo n d a tio n stabilisées
50
o f utilisation o f soils according to the A .S.T .M . specifications
for surface-courses (types A and B, quoted as S C -A and
S C -B , respectively), and for base courses (types A and B,
quoted as B C -A and B C -B , respectively).
If we superimpose the diagrams on the diagram shown in
Fig. 6 , it will be seen that soils suitable for granular stabili­
sation fall within the limits o f the A - l - a , A - l - b , A -3 , A - 2 -4
and A -2 -5 groups.
There is close agreement between the boundary a-values, as
deduced both from Atterberg limits and grain-size distribution
curves, in the B C -B type only. The agreement is good enough
for the higher a-value in the S C -A and B C -A types, for which
the lower a-value has been taken from the limiting grain-size
distribution curves, in order to assure better com pactibility. For
the S C -B type, both a-limits must be deduced from the grain-
size distribution curves. So far as the /-values deduced both
from the L L and P I specifications are concerned, they are coin ­
cident for base-course values, and close enough for surface-
course values. It appears, therefore, that is unnecessary to
specify both o f them.
The subject will be submitted to a deeper analysis in more
advanced stages o f research, for the above results seem worthy
o f careful consideration.
A ck n o w led g m en ts
The present work has been carried out as a part o f the re­
search programme o f the “ Laboratorio deE nsaios de Materiais
Africa.
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