Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GUWAHATI

NAME: YOGESH NAUTIYAL ROLL.NO: 234104212 PROGRAMME: M.TECH

PLASTIC LIMIT TEST

1. OBJECTIVE
Determination of plastic limit of soil.

2. NEED AND SCOPE

The plastic limit test is a fundamental procedure in soil mechanics and geotechnical
engineering with a broad scope of applications. this testing method is used as an integral part
of several engineering classification systems to characterize the fine-grained fractions of soils
and to specify the fine-grained fraction of construction materials. the plastic limit and
plasticity index of soils are also used extensively, either individually or together, with other
soil properties to correlate with engineering behaviour such as compressibility, permeability,
compatibility, shrink-swell and shear strength.

3. REFERENCES
1. IS: 2720 (Part 5)-1985

4. APPARATUS REQUIRED
1. Porcelain Evaporating Dish- 12cm diameter or, Flat Glass Plate- 10mm thick and 45 cm
square or larger.
2. Spatula
3. Surface for rolling (ground glass plate) – about 20 x 15 cm.
4. Container – airtight.
5. Balance – Sensitive to 0.01g
6. Oven – Thermostatically controlled with interior of non-corroding material
to maintain the temperature between 105 and 110⁰C.
7. Rod - 3mm diameter, about 10 cm length
5. OBSERVATION
Mass of dry soil sample = 20g

TRIAL NO. 1 2 3

CONTAINER NO. S5 7 71

WT. OF CONTAINER, (W1) g 19.669 14.113 20.131

WT. OF CONTAINER + WET SOIL (W2) g 21.699 16.226 22.750

WT. OF CONTAINER + DRY SOIL (W3) g 21.290 15.780 22.230

WT. OF WATER, g 0.409 0.446 0.520

WT. OF OVEN DRY SOIL, g 1.621 1.667 2.099

MOISTURE CONTENT, % 25.231 26.755 24.774

AVERAGE MOISTURE CONTENT, % 25.58

PLASTIC LIMIT % 25.58

6. CALCULATIONS

Liquid limit WL (Obtained from the liquid limit test) = 37.03 %

Water content (w) = 25.58 %
Plastic limit (WP) = 25.58 %
Plasticity Index (IP) = Liquid limit (WL) – Plastic limit (WP) = 11.45%

7. RESULTS

Plasticity Index (IP) (%) Soil type

0 Non-Plastic
<7 Low-Plastic
7-17 Medium-Plastic
>17 Highly-Plastic

Plastic limit of the sample = 25.58 %

Plasticity index (IP) = 11.45 %

8. PRECAUTION
1. The glass plate should be clean and free from soil paste.
2. Incorrect final diameter thread should be avoided by using metal rod.
3. Stopping the rolling process too soon to be avoided.

9. CONCLUSIONS
1. As per the experiment, the plasticity index of the soil sample is 11.45%. The soil can be
classified as Medium-Plastic soil.
2. The value of the plastic limit is used to classify the fine-grained soils and evaluating
the activities of clayey soil and it can be used to predict the consolidation properties
of soil while computing the settlement and bearing capacity of the soil.