PLASTICITY OF SOIL

Prepared by:
Engr. Rosete
 I. Atterberg Limits
II. Liquid Limit
A. Percussion Cup Method
B. One-Point Method
C. Fall Cone Method
III. Plastic Limit
TOPIC A. Rolling Method
OUTLINE B. Fall Cone Method
IV. Plasticity Index
V. Shrinkage Limit
A. Shrinkage Ratio
VI. Liquidity Index and Consistency Index
VII. Activity
VIII. Plasticity Chart
ATTERBERG LIMITS
named after a Swedish scientist who developed a method to describe the consistency of
fine-grained soils with varying moisture contents

depending on the moisture content, the behavior of soil can be divided into four basic states -
solid, semisolid, plastic, and liquid

Semisolid Plastic Liquid

Increasing Moisture Content

ATTERBERG LIMITS
LIQUID LIMIT (LL)
Percussion Cup Method

developed by Casagrande in 1932

only method adopted by ASTM (Test Designation D-4318) to determine the liquid limit of
cohesive soils

This device consists of a brass cup and a hard rubber

base. The brass cup can be dropped onto the base by a
cam operated by a crank. To perform the liquid limit
test, one must place a soil paste in the cup. A groove is
then cut at the center of the soil pat with the standard
grooving tool. By the use of the crank-operated cam, the
cup is lifted and dropped from a height of 10 mm. The
moisture content, in percent, required to close 12.5 mm
along the bottom of the groove after 25 blows is defined
as the liquid limit.
LIQUID LIMIT (LL)
Percussion Cup Method

Sample Flow Curve Flow Index, IF

𝑤1 − 𝑤2
𝐼𝐹 =
𝑁
log 𝑁2
1

where:
IF = flow index
w1 = moisture content of soil, in percent,
corresponding to N1 blows
w2 = moisture content corresponding to
N2 blows
LIQUID LIMIT (LL)
One- Point Method (Percussion Cup Method)
adopted by ASTM under designation D-4318

from the analysis of hundreds of liquid limit tests, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
proposed an empirical equation of the form,

tan 𝛽
𝑁
𝐿𝐿 = 𝑤𝑁
25

where:
N = number of blows in the liquid limit device for a 12.5 mm groove closure
wN = corresponding moisture content
tan β = 0.121 (but note that tan β is not equal to 0.121 for all soils)
LIQUID LIMIT (LL)
Fall Cone Method
adopted by British Standard under designation BS1377

In this test the liquid limit is defined as the moisture

content at which a standard cone of apex angle 30° and
weight of 0.78 N will penetrate a distance d = 20 mm in 5
seconds when allowed to drop from a position of point
contact with the soil surface.
LIQUID LIMIT (LL)
Fall Cone Method

Sample Flow Curve Flow Index, IFC

𝑤2 − 𝑤1
𝐼𝐹𝐶 =
log 𝑑2 − log 𝑑1

where:
IFC = flow index
w1 = moisture content of soil, in percent,
corresponding to d1 blows
w2 = moisture content corresponding to
d2 blows
LIQUID LIMIT (LL)
One- Point Method (Fall Cone Method)
Nagaraj and Jayadeva (1981)
𝑤
𝐿𝐿 =
0.77 log 𝑑

𝑤
𝐿𝐿 =
0.65 + 0.0175𝑑

Feng (2001)

0.33
20
𝐿𝐿 = 𝑤
𝑑
where:
w (%) = the moisture content for a cone penetration d (mm) falling between 15 mm to 25 mm
PLASTIC LIMIT (PL)
Rolling Method

defined as the moisture content in percent, at which the soil crumbles, when rolled into
threads of 3.2 mm in diameter
adopted by ASTM under designation D-4318

performed by repeated rollings of an ellipsoidal-

sized soil mass by hand on a ground glass plate
PLASTIC LIMIT (PL)
Fall Cone Method

In this test the plastic limit is defined as the moisture

content at which a standard cone of apex angle 30° and
weight of 2.35 N will penetrate a distance d = 20 mm in 5
seconds when allowed to drop from a position of point
contact with the soil surface.
PLASTICITY INDEX (PI)
defined as the difference between the liquid limit and the plastic limit of a soil

used in classifying fine-grained soils

𝑃𝐼 = 𝐿𝐿 − 𝑃𝐿
Sample Prob. 1
During Atterberg limit tests in the soil
mechanics laboratory, the students
obtained the following results from a
clayey soil.
Liquid Limit Tests
Number of Blows, N Moisture Content (%)
14 38.4
16 36.5
20 33.1
28 27.0
Plastic Limit Tests
Trial No. Moisture Content (%)
1 17.2
2 17.8

a. Determine the liquid limit using the

statistics function of the calculator.
b. Determine the plasticity index of the
soil using the average value of PL
from the two plastic limit trials.
c. Determine the flow index.
29.31%, 11.81%, 37.87
Sample Prob. 2
Refer to the soil in Sample Prob. 1. A
second group of students
conducted only one test and found
that the groove on the soil sample
closed 12.5 mm when N = 21 and w
= 30.4%. Estimate the liquid limit by
the one-point method.

29.77%
Sample Prob. 3
Following results are obtained for a
liquid limit test using a fall cone device.
Estimate the liquid limit of the soil and
the flow index.

Liquid Limit Tests

Cone Penetration, Moisture Content
d (mm) (%)
13 26.3
19 31.9
26 39.3
31 42.6

A single test was conducted with the

same soil above using the fall cone
device and the following results were
obtained: d = 17 mm and w = 28.5%.
Using the empirical formula, estimate
the liquid limit by the one-point method.

32.94%, 43.19, 30.08%, 30.08%, 30.07%

Bonus Seatwork
Given the laboratory results of the Atterberg Limits Test, determine the plasticity index of the soil.

Liquid Limit
Test Number 1 2 3 4
Cone Penetration, mm 16 18 28 33
Weight of Wet Soil + Container, g 35.62 36.91 41.28 45.70
Weight of Dry Soil + Container, g 28.84 29.89 31.42 33.69
Weight of Container, g 10.52 12.33 11.74 11.45
Weight of Water, g
Weight of Dry Soil, g
Water Content, %
Plastic Limit Natural Water Content
Test Number 1 2 1 2
Weight of Wet Soil + Container, g 30.18 31.78 27.77 30.04
Weight of Dry Soil + Container, g 25.76 27.18 25.39 27.23
Weight of Container, g 10.52 12.33 11.74 11.45
Weight of Water, g
Weight of Dry Soil, g
Water Content, %
Average, %

11.55%
SHRINKAGE LIMIT (SL)
the moisture content at which the volume of the soil mass ceases to change

Shrinkage limit tests are performed in the laboratory

with a porcelain dish about 44 mm in diameter and
about 12.7 mm high. The inside of the dish is coated
with petroleum jelly and is then filled completely with
wet soil. The mass of the wet soil inside the dish is
recorded. The soil pat in the dish is then oven-dried.
The volume of the oven-dried soil pat is then
determined.
SHRINKAGE LIMIT (SL)
Soil pat before and after drying

𝑆𝐿 = 𝑤𝑖 − ∆𝑤

𝑀1 − 𝑀2 𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉𝑓
𝑆𝐿 = 100 − (𝜌𝑤 )(100)
𝑀2 𝑀2
Shrinkage Ratio (SR)
ratio of the volume change of soil as a percentage of the dry volume to the corresponding
change in moisture content

∆𝑉
𝑉𝑓
𝑆𝑅 =
∆𝑀
𝑀2

𝑀2
𝑆𝑅 =
𝑉𝑓 𝜌𝑤

1
𝐺𝑠 =
1 𝑆𝐿
−( )
𝑆𝑅 100
LIQUIDITY INDEX AND CONSISTENCY INDEX
Liquidity Index (LI)

relative consistency of a cohesive soil in the natural state

𝑤 − 𝑃𝐿
𝐿𝐼 =
𝐿𝐿 − 𝑃𝐿

Consistency Index (CI)

indicator of the relative shear strength of the soil

𝐿𝐿 − 𝑤
𝐶𝐼 =
𝐿𝐿 − 𝑃𝐿

Approximate Correlation between CI and

Unconfined Compression Strength of Clay
ACTIVITY

used as an index for identifying the swelling

potential of clay soils

slope of the line correlating PI and % finer

than 2 micrometers

𝑃𝐼
A=
(% 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑦 − 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑏𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡)
PLASTICITY CHART
Sample Prob. 4
A saturated soil used to determine
the shrinkage limit has initial
volume Vi = 20.2 cm3, final volume
Vf = 14.3 cm3, mass of wet soil M1 =
34 g, and mass of dry soil M2 = 24 g.
Determine the shrinkage limit and
the shrinkage ratio.

17.08, 1.678
Sample Prob. 5
Given the laboratory results of the Atterberg Limits Test, determine the liquidity index and consistency index.

Liquid Limit
Test Number 1 2 3 4
Cone Penetration, mm 16 18 28 33
Weight of Wet Soil + Container, g 35.62 36.91 41.28 45.70
Weight of Dry Soil + Container, g 28.84 29.89 31.42 33.69
Weight of Container, g 10.52 12.33 11.74 11.45
Weight of Water, g
Weight of Dry Soil, g
Water Content, %
Plastic Limit Natural Water Content
Test Number 1 2 1 2
Weight of Wet Soil + Container, g 30.18 31.78 27.77 30.04
Weight of Dry Soil + Container, g 25.76 27.18 25.39 27.23
Weight of Container, g 10.52 12.33 11.74 11.45
Weight of Water, g
Weight of Dry Soil, g
Water Content, %
Average, %

-1.033, 2.033
Seatwork:

By pair, answer the following from your reference material:

• 3.4, 3.6, 3.11, 3.24, 3.28, 4.4, 4.12