GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY CE 354

Determine Liquid and Plastic limits

‫فهد عبدالهادي التلباني‬

‫سمير محمود النجار‬
354
The liquidity and plasticity limit is two of the sum of five limits assumed by
the Swedish scientist A. (Atterberg) The most important of these limits
:are

1- Shrinkage Limit (SL): It is the lowest percentage of water content after

.which there is no decrease in soil volume due to moisture loss from it

2- Plastic Limit (PL): It is the water content of soil which, if less, becomes
.plastic

3- Liquid limit (LL): It is the lowest percentage of the water content of the
soil, which if less than it becomes plastic, and at this content the soil is
.about to become a sticky liquid
The texture and nature of the soft-grained soil changes with the change in
its moisture content. Soil moves from a solid state to a semi-solid state
and from a semi-solid state to a plastic state, and from a plastic state to a
liquid state with an increase in humidity and that this change is gradual
and is accompanied by an increase in the size of the soil model, and that
.the turning points from a state to a state are called boundaries
The liquidity and plasticity limit is used extensively in classifying and
defining the soil, and the shrinkage limit is used in areas where the soil
volume changes as a result of successive humidity and drought. The limits
of fluidity and plasticity can be used to determine the volume changes in
soil. The liquidity limit is used in calculations of soil incorporation
Liquid limit (LL):-
Atterberg suggested defining the liquidity limit as the water content of the
soil at which it coalesced and for a distance of a half-inch lateral slit in the
sample from the impact of 25 strokes in the liquidity determination device
so that each stroke falls within 1 cm. There are several factors in this test
:that affect the water content, namely

1- The speed of the strikes.

2- The time required to prepare the sample in the liquid device.
3- Relative humidity.
4- Type of liquidity device.
5- The fall distance, defined here by one centimeter.

This is in addition to the type of soil and the competence of the person
doing the experiment :-

-Description of Liquidity Limit Device (Casa Grande):-

The device consists of a base with four rubber legs, and there is a copper
cup above the base connected with an arm that moves it from the top and
bottom to hit the base. There are screws at the top of the device that
raise and lower the copper cup according to the required distance, as
shown in the figure.
The purpose of conducting the experiment
The experiment aims to find the liquidity limit and the plasticity limit for
.air-dried or in its natural state

Experience theory and laws

Calculate wet weight which is equal to: W2 - W3
Calculate the dry soil weight equal to: W3 - W1
Then calculate the percentage of water content in the soil through the
:following law

W.C (%) = (W2 - W3) / (W3 - W1) * 100

: Where
W1: Weight of the empty package
W2: the weight of the enclosure with moist soil
W3: The weight of the enclosure with the soil after it has dried
-Devices and tools used:-
1- Mixing container for soil model.
2- Residential blending.
3- Liquidity Limit Checker "Casagrande".
4- Slotting machine.
5- Measuring vessels for water content.
6- Sensitive balance reading up to 0.01 gm.
7- Standard sieve No. (40).
8- Electric oven.

- Prepare the form:-

An experiment of Atterberg limits is done on the soil that passes through
the sieve No. (40), however, the soil that is brought from the field is wet
and difficult to pass through this sieve, so it is permissible to air-dry the
soil to help the pellets pass through. Sieve does not allow drying of the soil
with a kiln because this process usually reduces the boundary values of
fluidity and plasticity, unlike air drying, where research has shown that air
dried soil can restore the true values of the boundaries after mixing with
water and treating it from 24 to 48 hours. Also, air drying of the soil
reduces the fluidity limit by 2-6%. To avoid this problem, the soil can be
selected from the field by looking, so that its grains can pass through the
sieve No. (40), then break it by hand or by means of a hammer in the case
of lumps of hardened soil and then sift.
-The method of work :-
1- We take (250 gm) of the dry, passing sample from a sieve No. (40) and
put it in the mixing bowl and mix it with a mixing knife with a quantity of
water and let it be (50 cc) until the form becomes homogeneous.
2- We take a quantity of the model and place it on the cuff of the
Casagrande device and flatten it with a mixing knife so that the surface of
the soil in the pan is horizontal and the thickness of the soil in the pan is at
the deepest point within (1 cm). So that the soil model fills two-thirds of
the cuff, noting that the device must be calibrated before using it, so that
the distance of the cuff falls.
At a distance of (1 cm), this is done by inserting the slotting machine
Its thickness shall be (1 cm) under the cuff of the device, and the cuff
mounting screws are set so that the falling distance is equal to (1 cm).
3- We make a longitudinal slit in the center of the sample in the cuff of the
device with a slit generating machine.
4- We turn the device lever at a speed of two revolutions per second and
record the number of strikes that close the created crack for a distance of
approximately (1.3 cm). 5- We take up to (20 gm) of soil from the area of
sealing of the incision with a mixing knife and put it in the water content
test box and calculate its water content.
5- The above process is repeated several times and every time we change
the humidity in the model to get at least three attempts with the number
of strokes ranging between (15 and 35) strokes.
-Calculations and results:-
W.C (%) = (W2 - W3) / (W3 - W1) * 100
-Graphic chart:-
To determine the value of the liquidity limit in an accurate manner, a
relationship is drawn between the number of strokes using the
logarithmic scale and the water content using the natural scale. (I will not
draw it now because it depends on your results, dear student).

-Tools and devices:-

1- Mixing utensil.
2- Blending knife.
3- A glass sheet with dimensions not less than (30 x 30 cm).
4- Water content inspection boxes.
5- Sensitive balance reading up to (0.01 gm).
8- Electric oven.
7- Sieve No. (40).

-Prepare the form:-

-The same form used to check the liquidity limit. Where
We take up to three kilograms of field soil and dry it by leaving it in the air
inside the laboratory for a period of no less than a week, then break it by
hand or by means of a hammer in the case of lumps of hardened soil, then
sift it onto a sieve No. (40).
- The method of work:-
1- Mix about of the soil passing through sieve No. (40) with an amount of
water (50 cc) until the mixture is homogeneous.
2- We take a small piece of mixed soil and rub it with fingers on the glass
plate to make a thread from it by pressing the fingers on the clay with
light pressure, then pushing it forward and pulling it back until the clay
thread under the fingers becomes uniform and its diameter becomes
within (3.25 mm).
3- If the thread is not cracked with this diameter, then this means that the
moisture content in it is greater than the limit of plasticity. The thread is
cut and reshaped so that part of the water is lost by evaporation and step
(2) is repeated until the thread begins to crack at a diameter of (3.25 mm).
4- If the thread is cracked with a diameter greater than (3.25 mm), then
this means that the moisture content in it is less than the limit of
plasticity. The thread is cut and a little water is added to it and reshaped,
then step (2) is repeated until the thread begins to crack at a diameter of
(3.25 mm).

5- A sample is taken from the soil in paragraph (3) or (4) above to find the
water content.

6- The above steps are repeated for at least three attempts.

-Calculations and results:-
W.C (%) = (W2 - W3) / (W3 - W1) * 100
PI = LL – PL

- Discussion:-
1- The importance of knowing the limits of soil in general lies in:
A- Calculate the compressibility of the soil.
B- The velocity of water flow, as well as the amount of water collected for
the design of the terms.
C- Describing the soil condition by means of the liquidity limit guide,
whether solid, semi-solid, soft or liquid.
2-The plasticity modulus of the soil is the amount of water that must be
added to the soil in order to transform it from the plastic to the liquid
state, so that the importance of knowing the plasticity modulus is as
follows:
A- Classification of soil.
B- Determining the validity of materials for engineering use
*The soil used in the experiment was strong clay and difficult to knead
and work with, and in this type of soil can be used first a knife (Spatula) to
help determine the location of the pieces and then use the cutting tool. In
order to control the speed of the strokes, the stroke knob must be rotated
at a rate of 120 revolutions per minute, i.e. a rate of 2 strokes per second.
1- The limit of fluidity in our experiment was =%, indicating that this soil is
of medium compressibility.
2- The greater the distance between PL and LL is considered a good soil
because it needs a large amount of water to move from one state to
another.
3- The higher the PI value, the greater the smoothness and the greater the
soil swelling.
4- Knowledge of PL and LL is extremely important in soil classification as a
soil classification system has been developed based on them.

To determine the value of the liquidity limit in an accurate manner, a

relationship is drawn between the number of strokes using the
logarithmic scale and the water content using the natural scale. The
relationship is usually a straight line, so it becomes easy to find the water
content in this way. Therefore, what is required is to find three to six
points representing the relationship between the number of strikes and
the water content (of course, the range of strikes must include 25
strokes). These points are then drawn on semi-logarithmic paper and
connected to a straight line and then the amount of water content
corresponding to 25 strokes is read from the graph. It should be noted
that the closer the points drawn to the 25 strokes, the better the results.
- content :-
1- Liquid limit (LL).
2- The purpose of conducting the experiment.
3- Experience theory and laws
4- and tools used
5- Prepare the form.
6- The method of work.
7- Calculations and results.
8- Graphic chart.
9- Tools and devices.
10- Prepare the form.
11- The method of work.
12- Calculations and results.
13- Discussion.