Geotechnical Engineering-1

Module-1
Part-B Questions & Answers

1. What are Atterberg Limits? How is it used for classification of fine grained
soils?

Atterberg stated that a fine grained soil can exist in four different states, namely, liquid,
plastic, semi-solid and solid state. The water contents at which soil changes from one state
to the other are known as Atterberg’s limits or Consistency limits.

Atterberg limits are very important index property of soil. They are Liquid limit, Plastic limit
and Shrinkage limit.

Liquid Limit

The water content at which soil changes from liquid state to plastic state is called as liquid
limit. At the liquid limit, the clay is practically like a liquid, but possesses a small shearing
strength.

Plastic Limit

The water content at which soil changes from plastic state to semi-solid state is called as
plastic limit. It is the water content below which soil stops behaving like a plastic material. At
plastic limit, soil begins to crumble when rolled into a thread of 3mm diameter.

Shrinkage Limit

The water content at which soil changes from semi-solid state to solid state is called
shrinkage limit. It is the water content at which soil stops shrinking further due to a decrease
in water content. It is the lowest water content at which soil is fully saturated.