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Module 4 - Soil Index Properties Part 3 - Soil Consistency
Module 4 - Soil Index Properties Part 3 - Soil Consistency
Module 4 - Soil Index Properties Part 3 - Soil Consistency
PROPERTIES
CE 401: SOIL MECHANICS
MODULE 4 Part 3
PREPARED BY: ENGR. MARC DANIEL LAURINA
01 Soil Consistency
02 Liquid Limit
03 Plastic Limit
04 Shrinkage Limit
05 Indices in Soil
Consistency
2
F. SOIL CONSISTENCY
Index Properties
• Some of the important physical properties, which may relate to the state of the soil or the
type of the soil include
1. Soil color,
2. Soil structure,
3. Specific gravity
4. Particle shape,
5. Particle size distribution, Main Index Properties for Coarse-Grained Soil
6. Relative Density
7. Consistency limits Main Index Properties for Cohesive Soil
• Soil consistency is the strength with which soil materials are held
together or the resistance of soils to deformation and rupture.
• Consistency may also be looked upon as the degree of firmness of a soil
and is often directly related to strength. This is applicable specifically to
clay soils.
• The consistency of clay soils is expressed qualitatively by such terms as
very soft, soft, stiff, very stiff and hard.
• It is depends upon the water content
• If we know the water content of our sample is relative to the Atterberg limits,
then we already know a great deal about the engineering response of our
sample.
• The Atterberg limits may be used for the following:
1. To obtain general information about a soil and its strength,
compressibility, and permeability properties
2. Empirical correlations for some engineering properties
3. Soil classification
• Liquid Limit defined in Casagrande’s tool: It is defined as the water content at which the groove cut
into soil pat in standard liquid limit device after 25 blows to close the distance of 12.7 mm (1/2 inch)
Supplementary Video:
Liquid Limit - Casagrande Method
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvrqyFYhhxQ&list=PLHKzkbxyS9dYJQ2
kCbnIWmJPiyzToiiMW&index=30
• The liquid limit is difficult to achieve in just single test. It is difficult to adjust the moisture content in soil to
meet the required ½ inch closure of the groove at 25 blows. Hence, at least 4 tests for the same soil are made
at varying w%, and then w% values are plotted against the logarithm of the number of blows, N.
𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆
𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒙 (𝑭𝑰) = 𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒆 =
𝒓𝒖𝒏
𝑤1 − 𝑤2 𝑤1 − 𝑤2
𝐹𝐼 = =
log 𝑁1 − log 𝑁2 log 𝑁1
𝑁2
• The cone is released for 5 seconds so that it may penetrate the soil.
• The liquid limit is defined as the water content of the soil which allows the cone to penetrate
exactly 20 mm during that period of time.
Supplementary Video:
Plasticity and Plastic State & Plastic Limit of Soil and its Determination
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Xcamy9CzU&list=PLHKzkbxyS9dYJQ2kCbnI
WmJPiyzToiiMW&index=32
• The plasticity index defines the range of water content for which the soil behaves like a plastic
material.
• It is useful in engineering classification of fine-grained soils, and many engineering properties
(strength, compressibility, compactibility) have been found to correlate with the PI.
• Application:
1. An indicator of the suitability of the clay binder in a soil mixture
used for pavement subgrades, base courses, or unpaved road
surfaces.
a. If the PI is too high, the exposed soil tends to soften and become
slippery in wet weather, and the road may rut under traffic
b. if the plasticity index is too low, the unpaved road will tend to
‘‘washboard’’ in response to resonate bouncing of wheels of
vehicular traffic
2. Low Plastic soil is used for embankment because it is easy to
compact
SOIL MECHANICS LECTURES by Engr. Marc Daniel Laurina
Liquidity Index (LI)
• Note: LI is related to CI
LI + CI = 1
𝑆𝐼 = 𝑃𝐿 − 𝑆𝐿
𝑃𝐼
𝑇𝐼 =
𝐹𝐼
• Activity number (Ac) describes the importance of the clay fractions (the amount of particles
less than 2 micromm) on the plasticity index.
• It is a measure of the water holding capacity of clayey soil.
• It study the behavior of swelling (expansion) and shrinkage characteristics of soil.
• Where:
Clay Fraction (CF) = percent of soil finer than 0.02 mm (clay size)
Given the laboratory results of the Atterberg limit test in figure shown.
Determine the LL, PL, PI, LI, CI, FI and TI. From a hydrometer analysis to determine particle size, it is found
that 45% of the sample consists of particle smaller than 0.002 mm. Indicate the activity classification of the
clay.
A saturated 100 cm^3 clay sample has a natural content of 29%. It is found that
the shrinkage limit occurs when the water content is 18%. If the Gs of the soil is
2.70.
• Compute the shrinkage ratio
• Compute the volume of sample when the water content is 15%
• Compute the mass of dry soil sample.