DEPARTMENT OF IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, UAF

Practical Manual
ID-502 (Soil Mechanics)
Supervised by,
Prof. Dr. Allah Bakhsh,
(Chairman/ Director, Department of Irrigation and Drainage/ Water Management Research Center)
Dr. Syed Hamid Hussain Shah

Prepared by,
Engr. Muhammad Akhlaq Watto

2014

Engr. Muhammad Akhlaq Watto 1

 Table of Content

Sr. No Title of Experiment Page

8 Determination of Liquid Limit of Soil and Flow
Index.
9 Determination of Plastic Limit of Soil and plastic
Index.

Engr. Muhammad Akhlaq Watto 2

 Experiment # 08

Title:

Determination of Liquid Limit of Soil and Flow Index.

Objective:

To determine the Liquid Limit and flow index by Casagrande’s Apparatus.

Apparatus:

 Casagrande’s liquid limit device

 Grooving tools of standard type
 Oven
 Spatula
 IS Sieve of size 425µm
 Weighing balance, with 0.01g accuracy
 Air-tight container for determination of moisture
content
Theory:

In the early 1990s, a Swedish scientist named Atterberg developed

a method to describe the consistency of fine-grained soils with
varying moisture contents. Atterberg limits are defined as the water
corresponding to different behavior conditions of fine-grained soil
(silts and clays). As a dry, clayey soil takes on increasing amounts
of water, it undergoes dramatic and distinct changes in behavior
and consistency. Depending on the water content of the soil, it may
appear in four states: solid, semi-solid, plastic and liquid. In each
state, the consistency and behavior of a soil is different and
consequently so are its engineering properties. Thus, the boundary
between each state can be defined based on a change in the soil's

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behavior.

Liquid Limit (LL) is the water content, in percent, of a soil at the arbitrarily defined boundary
between the liquid and plastic states.

The magnitude of slope of the flow line is called the flow index, F1.

𝑤1 % − 𝑤2 (%)
𝐹1 =
𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑁2 − 𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑁1

Procedure:

 Determine the mass of three moisture cans (W1).

 Put about 200 to 250 g of air-dry soil, passed through No. 40 sieve, into the evaporating
dish. Add water into the soil and make uniform paste.
 Place a portion of the paste in the brass cup of the liquid limit device. Smooth the surface
of this portion with the help of spatula. The maximum depth of the specimen should be 8
mm.

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  Cut the groove along the center line of the soil pat in the cup.
 Lift and drop the cup at a rate of 2 drops per second. Continue cranking until the two
halves of the soil specimen meet each other at the bottom of the groove. The two halves
must meet along a distance of 13mm (1/2 in).
 Record the number of drops required to close the groove and moisture content in each
soil sample.
 If the number of drops is greater than 25 then add water in the soil sample and repeat the
previous procedure until the number of drops is less than 25.
 Plot semi-log graph moisture content versus number of blows. This approximately
straight line called flow curve. From the straight line, determine the moisture content
corresponding to 25 blows. This is the liquid limit of the soil.
 Solved Example:
Liquid limit
Weight of can + moist soil = W1
Weight of can + dry soil = W2
Weight of can = Wc
No of obs. No. of drops Can No. W1 (g) W2 (g) Wc (g) Ψ(M.C)
1 30 A-1 34.06 25.15 11.80 45.0 %
2 23 A-2 32.47 25.80 11.61 47.0 %
3 18 A-3 37.46 29.00 11.69 48.9 %

As shown in graph at 25 drops the liquid limit = 46.40 %

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 Experiment # 09

Title:

Determination of Plastic Limit of Soil and plastic Index.

Objective:

To determine the Plastic Limit and plastic index.

Apparatus:

 Porcelain Evaporating dish

 Spatula
 Moisture can
 Ground glass plate
 Balance sensitive up to 0.01 g
Theory:

Plastic Limit (PL) is the water content, in percent, of a soil at the boundary between the
plastic and semi solid states.

Plasticity Index (PI) the range of water content over which a soil behaves plastically.
Mathematically the plasticity index cab be written as,

PI = LL - PL

Where,

LL = liquid limit (%)

PL = plastic limit (%)

Procedure:

 Squeeze and roll a 8 g test sample into an ellipsoidal shaped mass. Roll this mass
between the fingers or palm of hand and the ground glass plate or satisfactory paper on a

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 smooth horizontal surface with just sufficient pressure to roll the mass into a thread of
uniform diameter throughout its length. The rate of rolling should be between 80 and 90
strokes/min., counting a stroke as one complete motion of the hand forward and back to
the starting position again.
 When the diameter of the thread becomes ⅛ in. (3 mm), break the thread into six or eight
pieces. Squeeze the pieces together between the thumbs and fingers into a uniform mass
roughly ellipsoidal in shape, and reroll.
 Continue this alternate rolling to a thread ⅛ in. (3 mm) in diameter, gathering together,
kneading and rerolling, until the thread crumbles under the pressure required for rolling
and the soil can no longer be rolled into a thread.
 Crumbling may occur when the thread has a diameter greater than ⅛ in. (3 mm). This
shall be considered a satisfactory end point, provided the soil has been previously rolled
into a thread ⅛ in. (3 mm) in diameter.
 The crumbling will manifest itself differently with various soil types: some soils fall apart
in numerous small aggregations of particles; others may form an outside tubular layer
that starts splitting at both ends. The splitting progress toward the middle, and finally the
thread falls apart in many small platy particles. Heavy clay soils require much pressure
to deform the thread, particularly as they approach the plastic limit, and finally the thread
breaks into a series of barrel shaped segments each about ¼ to ⅜ in. (6.3 to 9.5 mm) in
length.
 At no time shall the operator attempt to produce failure at exactly ⅛ in. (3 mm) diameter
by allowing the thread to reach ⅛ in. (3 mm), then reducing the rate of rolling or the hand
pressure or both, and continuing the rolling without further deformation until the thread
falls apart. Maintain the same rate of rolling and the same hand pressure during the entire
test. When testing very low plastic soils, it is permissible, however, to reduce the total
amount of deformation by making the initial diameter of the mass near the required ⅛ in.
(3 mm) final diameter.
 When the plastic limit has been reached, a sample of the soil is immediately taken to
determine its moisture content. Place the crumbled portions of the soil together in a
suitable tared container. Weigh the container and wet soil and record. Weigh to the
nearest 0.01 g.

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Solved Example:
Plastic Limit

Weight of can + moist soil = W1

Weight of can + dry soil = W2
Weight of can = Wc
Weight of water = Ww
Weight of dry soil = Ws

No. of Can No. W1 (g) W2 (g) Wc (g) Ww Ws Ψ(M.C)

obs.
1 A-4 15.47 14.79 11.56 0.68 3.23 21.1
2 A-5 16.27 15.46 11.68 0.81 3.78 21.4

Plastic limit = 21.2 %

Plasticity index
PI = LL – PL
PI = 46.40 - 21.2 = 25.2 %

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