PLASTIC LIMIT
ASTM D4318, ASSHTO T 90
****Date of Experiment ****
***Date of Submission***
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1-Introduction to the experiment
The plastic limit is the water content at which a soil-water paste changes from a semisolid to
a plastic consistency as it is rolled into a 3.175-mm (1/8-inch) diameter thread in a standard
test. The second measured parameter of Atterberg limits test (ASTM, 2010) is the liquid
limit. Soil can be regarded as the structural basis of any type of construction as most of the
structures are erected on the soil itself. In this regard, soil can be considered as the foundation
of all types of surface construction. Soil should have an acceptable quality to ensure adequate
structural strength and safety. Thus, to ensure the quality of the soil, various tests are
conducted. One such test of soil is the plastic limit test.
In this regard, the soil is considered non-plastic if the soil thread cannot be rolled down to 3.2
mm at any possible moisture conditions.
1.1-Importance
The main importance of the plastic limit test of soil can be summarized as follows:
1. The value of the plastic limit is used to classify the fine-grained soils and evaluating the
activities of clayey soil.
2. It indicates the toughness index of soil.
3. It gives an idea regarding the consistency of soil.
4. It can be used to predict the consolidation properties of soil while computing the settlement
and bearing capacity of the soil.
5. The plastic limit is essential to ascertain the plasticity index of the soil.
2-Discussion and Results
1-In case of sandy soils, plastic limit should be determined first. When the plastic limit
cannot be determined, the plascticity index should be reported as NP (non-plastic.
2-When plastic limit is equal to zero or greater than the liquid limit, the plasticity index shall
be reported as zero.
3-After 180 seconds our recorded dry weight becomes constant, this is the pont where we
have the platic limit.
4- So, plastic limit will be 17.93%.
5-Our soil will exhibit a marginal expamsion that can vary between 0.5in to 1.25in.
3-Observation and Calculations
Weight of soil sample= 50.98g
Wet weight= 24.47g
Now the dry weights recorded in the lab are given by.
recorded dry weight
time (s) weight(g) (g) PL(%)
6.20659
30 74.02 23.04 7
60 72.63 21.65 13.0254
17.1934
90 71.86 20.88 9
17.7574
120 71.76 20.78 6
17.8709
150 71.74 20.76 1
17.9277
180 71.73 20.75 1
17.9277
210 71.73 20.75 1
Plastic limit is given by the following formula.
PL = [100x(Wet Wt – Dry Wt)]/100
4-Graph.
PL Vs Dry Weight Chart
23.5
23
22.5
22
21.5
21
20.5
20
19.5
2 9 3 9 6 5 1
222 043 038 283 668 373 277
22 57 90 95 87 43 .9
22 41 65 90 55 08 17
97 40 48 45 90 71
65 25 93 57 70 27
.20 3.0 7.1 7.7 7.8 7.9
6 1 1 1 1 1
5-References.
ASTM D4318-00 Standard Test Method for Liquid limit, Plastic Limit and plasticity
Index of Soils.
Das, B. Principles of Geotechnical Engineering
Gunaratne, M. ‘The Foundation Engineering Handbook’.
Rogers, R., Prassas, E., & McShane, W. Traffic engineering.
Das, B. Principles of foundation Engineering.
