Geotechnical Engineering 1 (Soil Mechanics)

Module 3 – Part 1: Consistency of Soil

Objectives:

After studying these topics students will be able to:

1. Understand the importance of phase relationships, physical states and soil classification.

2. Know the significance and application soil consistency and classification in determination of the
strength of soil.

Content:

A. Introduction

In the early 1900s, a Swedish scientist named Atterberg developed a method to describe the
consistency of fine grained soils with varying moisture contents. At very low moisture content, soil
behaves more like a solid. When the moisture content is very high, the soil and water may flow like a
liquid. Hence, on an arbitrary basic, depending on the moisture content, the behavior of soil can be
divided into four basic states-solid, semisolid, plastic and liquid.

W
a
Liquid State
t
e
r Liquid Limit, LL
c
o Plastic State
n
t
e Plastic Limit, PL
n
t
i
Semisolid State
n
c Shrinkage Limit, SL
r
e
a Solid State
s
e
s

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 Liquid Limit Test Set

B. Definition of Terms and Formulas

Consistency is the term used to describe the degree of firmness (e.g., soft, medium, firm, or
hard) of a soil. The consistency of a cohesive soil is greatly affected by the water content of the soil.
A gradual increase of the water content may transform a dry soil from solid state, into a liquid state
to a semisolid state, to a plastic state, and after further moisture increase in to a liquid state. The
water content at the corresponding junction points of these states are known as the shrinkage limit,
the plastic limit, and the liquid limit respectively.

1. Liquid Limit (LL) is defined as the moisture content corresponding to the transition from liquid
to plastic state.

2. Plastic limit (PL) is defined as the moisture content at which the soil crumbles, when rolled into
threads of 1/8 in. 93.2 mm) in diameter and it is the lower limit of the plastic stage of soil.

3. Plasticity index (PI) is the difference between the liquid limit and the plastic limit of a soil.

PI = LL − PL
4. Shrinkage limit (SL) is the moisture content corresponding to the final transition.

(M1 − M2 )(100) (V1 − V2 )(ρw )(100)

SL = −
M2 M2

Where: M1 = mass of the wet soil pat in the dish at the beginning of the test
M2 = mass of the dry soil in the pat
V1 = initial volume of the wet soil pat
V2 = volume of the oven-dried soil pat
w= density of water
5. Shrinkage ratio
1 M2
SR = ( )( )
ρw V2

6. Specific gravity of solids

1
Gs =
1 SL
−
SR 100
7. Liquidity index (LI) is the ratio of the relative consistency of a cohesive soil in the natural state.
 − PL
LI =
LL − PL

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8. Consistency index (CI)
LL − 
CI =
LL − PI
9. Shrinkage index is the difference between the plastic limit and the shrinkage limit of a soil.
SI = PL − SL
PI
10. Activity of clay. Ac =


Where:  = percent of soil finer than 0.002 mm (clay size).

Activity Classification

Ac < 0. 7 Inactive

0. 7 < Ac < 1. 2 Normal clay

Ac > 1. 2 Active clay

Description of Clay in terms of Liquid Limit (LL) and Plasticity Index (PI)

LL > 60% and PI is 25% Very High

LL is 50% – 60% and PI is 25% – 35% Medium
LL < 50% and PI < 25% Low

Soil Indices

Index Correlation
Plasticity Strength and compressibility
Liquidity Compressibility and stress rate
Shrinkage Shrinkage potential
Activity of clay Swell potential, and so forth

Description of Soil Based on Liquidity Index

LI < 0 Semisolid state – high strength, brittle (sudden) fracture is exposed

0 < LI < 1 Plastic state – intermediate strength, soil deforms like a plastic material
LI > 1 Liquid state – low strength, soil deforms like a viscous fluid

Description of Soil Based on Plasticity Index

PI Description
0 Nonplastic
1 -5 Slightly plastic
5 – 10 Low plasticity
10 – 20 Medium plasticity
20 – 40 High plasticity
>40 Very high plasticity

Atterberg’s Limits are also used to assess the potential swell of a given soil

Potential Swell
LL PI
Classification
<50 <25 Low
50 – 60 25 – 35 Medium
>60 >35 High

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Essential points:

1. Fine-grained soils can exist in one of four states: solid, semi-solid, plastic, and liquid.
2. Water is the agent that responsible for changing the states of soils.
3. A soil gets weaker if its water content that causes a change of state. These are the liquid limit- the
water content that caused the soil to change from a plastic state; the plastic limit- the water
content that caused the soil to change from a plastic to a semi-solid; and the shrinkage limit- the
water content that caused the soil to change from a semi-solid to a solid state. All these limiting
water contents are found from laboratory tests.
4. The plasticity index defines the range of water content for which the soil behaves like a plastic
material.
5. The liquidity index gives a measure of strength.

Problems
1. A saturated soil has the following characteristics: initial volume = 19.65 cm 3, final volume = 13.5
cm3, mass of wet soil is 36 g and mass of dry soil = 25 g. Determine shrinkage limit and shrinkage
ratio.

2. The following are results from the liquid and plastic limit test for a soil:

Number of Blows (N) Moisture Content (ω%)

15 42
20 40.8
28 39.1

The plastic limit is 18.7%. Determine the

a. Liquid limit using table.

b. Plasticity index of the soil.
c. Liquidity index of the soil if the water content is 24%.
d. Consistency index.

3. The following data were obtained from the Atterberg Limits test for a soil:

Liquid Limit = 52. 3%

Plastic Limit = 26. 5%

Determine the

a. Plasticity index of the soil.

b. Liquidity index of the soil if the in situ moisture content of the soil is 32%.
c. Nature of the soil.

4. The following are the results of a shrinkage limit test:

Initial volume of soil in saturated state = 24. 6 cc

Final volume of soil in dry state = 15. 9 cc
Initial mass in a saturated state = 44g
Final mass in a dry state = 30. 1g
Determine the

a. Dry density of the soil in g/cc.

b. Saturated density of the soil in g/cc.
c. Void ratio of the soil.
d. Shrinkage limit of the soil.
e. Shrinkage ratio of the soil.
f. Specific gravity of the solids.

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6. Laboratory results for a sample of clay soil for the purpose of evaluating the potential for volume
change, swelling or expansion are as follows:

Liquid limit = 68%

Plastic limit = 24%
Particles smaller than 0. 002 mm = 44%

Determine the

a. Plasticity index.
b. Activity classification of clay.
c. Rate of the volume change potential.

7. In a liquid limit test using penetrometer, the following readings were recorded and tabulated as
follows:

Plastic Limit Test Results

Trial Number γwet (kN⁄ 3 ) γd (kN⁄ 3 )

m m
1 128.6 105.4
2 141.4 116.8
3 132.6 109.6
4 134.5 111.2
5 136.0 113.4

Liquid Limit Test Results

Moisture Content (ω%) Cone Penetration (mm)

42.5 16.0
47.5 17.5
58.1 22.8
60.0 26.0

Determine the

a. Liquid limit of the soil.

b. Plasticity index of the soil.
c. Liquidity index, if the natural moisture content of the soil is 38%.

References:

1. Images are Retrieved from https://www.google.com

2. Geotechnical Engineering (Revised Third Edition) by C. Venkatramaiah, 2012
3. Principles of Geotechnical Engineering (Seventh Edition) by Braja M. Das, 2010
4. Soil Mechanics and Foundations (Third Edition) by Muni Budhu, 2011
5. Soil Mechanics 7th Edition, R.F. Craig, 2004
6. Basic Fundamentals of Geotechnical Engineering by Venancio L. Besavilla Jr., 1998
7. Fundamentals of Geotechnical Engineering by Diego Inocencio T. Gillesania, 2006

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