5) Explain, with an aid of a sketch how do index parameters such as LL, PL, and PI can be use to classify

fine grained soil. And how do you classify coarse grain soil?

Solution:

Classification of fined grained soil

For very fine soils, such as silt and clay, the consistency is an important property. It determines whether
the soil can easily be handled, by soil moving equipment, or by hand. The consistency is often very much
dependent on the amount of water in the soil. This is expressed by the water content w L. It is defined as
the weight of the water per unit weight of solid material,

When the water content is very low, the soil can be very stiff, almost like a stone. It is then said to be in
the solid state. Adding water, for instance if the clay is flooded by rain, may make the clay plastic, and for
higher water contents the clay may even become almost liquid. In order to distinguish between these state
(solid, plastic and liquid) two standard tests have been agreed upon, that indicate the consistency limits.
They are sometimes denoted as the Atterberg limits.

Here is the relationship between Atterberg limits and soil volume.

Figure 5.1: Atterberg Limits relationships

Liquid Limit (LL) or wL Test

The transition from the liquid state to the plastic state is denoted as the liquid limit
(LL), or wL. It represents the lowest water content at which the soil behaviour is still
largely liquid. Its means that if the water content of the fined grained soil is more than
this limit is in liquid state and same to if the water content is less than this limit, the
soil is in Plastic state. The limit can be determined through Casagrande method and
the Cone Penetrometer Method.
Figure 5.2: Casagrande’s cup
Plastic Limits (PL)
The transition from the plastic state to the solid state is called the plastic limit
(PL), and denoted as wP . It is defined as the water content at which the clay can
just be rolled to threads of 3 mm diameter. The (arbitrary) limit of 3 mm is
supposed to indicate the plastic limit. By continuous rolling the clay will
gradually become drier, by evaporation of the water, until the threads start to
break this indicates that the water content in soil is reaches the its plastic state.

Plasticity Index (PI)

For many applications (potteries, dike construction) it is especially important that the range of the plastic
state is large. This is described by the plasticity index PI. It is defined as the difference of the liquid limit
and the plastic limit,

Plasticity Index ( PI )=Liquid limit ( ¿ ) – Plastic Limit (PL).

The plasticity index is a useful measure for the possibility to process the clay. It is important for potteries,
for the construction of the clay core in a high dam, and for the construction of a layer of low permeability
covering a deposit of polluted material. In all these cases a high plasticity index indicates that the clay can
easily be used without too much fear of it turning into a liquid or a solid. There is a degree of plasticity
such as:
British Soil Classification System Unified Classification System (USA).

 Low Plasticity: wL < 0.35  Low Plasticity: wL < 0.55

 Intermediate Plasticity: wL = 0.35 – 0.50  High Plasticity: wL > 0.50
 High Plasticity: wL = 0.50 – 0.70
 Very High Plasticity: wL = 0.70 – 0.90
 Extremely High Plasticity: wL > 0.90

Classification of Coarse Grained Soil

For coarse grained soil is easier to identify through sieve analysis in the particle size distribution size
analysis, a representative sample of the soil is split systematically down to a convenient sub-sample size
and then oven dried in the oven. This sample is then passed through a nest of standard test sieves arranged
in descending order of mesh size and the coarse grained soil is classify though the sieve they according to
the standard such as British standard range, BS, Unified Standard Classification and American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, AASHTO. When the band width is very
narrow the soil will be termed poorly graded, if it is wide is call well graded and lastly the difference of
grain size is very big is call gap graded.