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Importance of grain-size characteristics

• Permeability of filter sand in loose state depends on

grain-size characteristics, D10 and CU (Hazen 1892) and
classification of coarse grained soils uses uniformity
coefficient and coefficient of curvature.
• The effective size (D10:size corresponding to 10% finer):
10% particles are finer and 90% coarser than the
effective size
• The uniformity coefficient (D60 /D10)
• Third characteristic of grain-size distribution, useful in
the classification of soils, is the coefficient of curvature
[Cc : D302 /(D60 ×D10)]

Grain Size Distribution

• Sizes of the grains that constitute a soil and
• percentage of the total weight represented by
soil grains in various size ranges, are important
properties of a soil.
• Coarse- grained soils (≥75 mm): By mechanical
sieve analysis
• Fine-grained soils (<75 mm): wet mechanical
analysis
• Presented as a curve on a semi-logarithmic plot
Ordinate: Percentage by weight of particles smaller than
the size denoted by the abscissa (natural scale)
Abscissa: Particle size (in log scale)

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Grain Size Distribution

• The general shape and slope of the
distribution curves are described by
uniformity coefficient (Cu) and coefficient of
curvature (Cc).
• The higher the value of the Cu the larger the
range of particle sizes present in the soil
• A well graded soil has a Cc between 1 and 3.

Mechanical Sieve set

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Specific Surface
• Sand: 0.01 m2/g
• Kaolinite: 10-20 m2/g
• Illite: 65-100 m2/g
• Montmorillonite: 800 m2/g

Water surrounding a clay particle

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Adsorbed water
• Adsorbed water held on the surface of the
particles by powerful forces of electrical
attraction and virtually in a solid state.
• This layer is of very small thickness, usually of
the order of 0.005 mm.
• This water cannot be removed by oven drying
at 110ºC, and may, therefore, be considered
to be part of the solid soil grain.

Hygroscopic water
• Water which is not so tightly held and can be
removed by oven drying, but not by air drying,
and is termed as hygroscopic moisture.

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Capillary water
• Capillary water, held by surface tension,
generally removable by air drying

Gravitational water
• Gravitational water, which can move in the
voids between soil grains and is removable by
drainage.

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Chemically bonded water

• Chemically combined water, in the form of
water of hydration within the crystal structure.
This water, in general, not removable by oven
drying.

Water Content
• Water (moisture) content: The weight of water
that can be removed from the soil heating at
105-110oC, expressed as a percentage of the
dry weight.
• Natural water content: The moisture content
of natural undisturbed soil in-situ.

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Plasticity of Soils
• The ability of a soil to undergo unrecoverable
deformation without cracking or crumbling.
• Plasticity of soil is caused by the adsorbed
water that surrounds the clay particles

Consistency of clays
• Physical properties of clays are considerably
influenced by the amount of water present in
them
• Depending on the water content, four stages or
states of consistency are used to describe the
consistency of a clay soil: Liquid, plastic, semi-
solid, and solid states.
• The boundary water contents at which the soil
undergoes a change from one state to another
are called consistency limits.

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Consistency of clays
• Atterberg, first demonstrated the significance
of these limits, hence known as the Atterberg
limits
• The type of clay minerals and their
proportional amounts in a soil will affect these
limits
• These limits, though empirical in nature, are
of great significance in understanding the
behaviour of clays.

Consistency of clays
• When a fine-grained soil is mixed with a large
quantity of water, the resulting suspension is in a
liquid state, and offers practically no resistance to
flow, viz. the soil exhibit no shear strength.
• If the water content of the suspension is gradually
reduced keeping the consistency of the sample
uniform throughout, a stage comes when the soil
just begins offering resistance to flow.

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Liquid Limit
• This is the stage when the soil changes from
possessing no shear strength to having an
infinitesimal (extremely low) shear strength
and changes from the liquid to plastic state.
• The boundary of water content between these
two states: Liquid Limit (wL)

Plastic Limit
• In the plastic state, the soil can be moulded to
different shapes without rupturing it, due to
plasticity.
• If the water content is further reduced, the
soil change from plastic to semi-solid state,
and the boundary water content: Plastic Limit
(wP)

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Typical LL and PL

Semi-Solid State
• In the Semi-solid state, the soil does not have
plasticity, but exhibits brittle behaviour. When
pressure is applied, soil crumbles.
• Upto the semi-solid state, the soil remains
fully saturated and any reduction in the
volume of water will result in an almost equal
reduction in the volume of the soil mass
(volume of water present is more than volume
of voids).

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Shrinkage Limit
• With further reduction in the water content,
the volume of the soil does not decrease any
further. The sample changes from semi-solid
to solid state, and the boundary water
content: Shrinkage limit.
• Below this limit, the soil begins to dry up at
the surface and soil is no longer fully
saturated.

Degree of Saturation

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Atterberg Limits

Atterberg Limits
Volume of soil

Liquid
Plastic
Semi-Solid

Solid

Water Content
wS wP wL

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Atterberg limits – Liquid Limit

• Liquid limit (LL): The moisture content at
which a soil passes from the plastic to the
liquid state.
• The (undrained) shear strength of the soil
corresponding to LL is about 1.7 kPa.

Plastic limit
• Plastic limit (PL): The moisture content at
which a soil passes from the plastic state to
the solid state, and becomes too dry to be in a
plastic condition.
• The (undrained) shear strength of the soil
corresponding to LL is about 1.7 kPa.

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Shrinkage limit
• Shrinkage limit (SL): The moisture content at
which a soil on being dried ceases to shrink.

Plasticity Chart

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