CE3410 - Construction Materials Laboratory

(Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory Manual)

Experiment # 6-PartB

Determination of Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit of

Fine-grained Soils (IS2720-V)

Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory

Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Chennai-600 036

August-November 2023
 Experiment # 6-PartB: Determination of Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit of Fine-grained Soils

Printout of Observation and Calculations Sheets (Pages 5

to 8) Available in the Laboratory for All Students
Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit of Fine-grained Soils
Aim: To determine the liquid limit and plastic limit of fine-grained soils.

Theory:
Liquid limit: Moisture content below which the soil behaves as a plastic material. The
material is on the verge of becoming a viscous fluid at this moisture content.
Plastic limit: Moisture content below which the soil is non-plastic.
Plasticity index: The range of water content over which the soil remains in the plastic
state.
Flow index: The rate at which the soil mass loses its shear strength with an increase
in water content.
𝑊1 −𝑊2
𝐼𝑓 = 𝑁 (1)
𝑙𝑜𝑔10 2
𝑁1

Apparatus and materials needed for performing the liquid limit test
a) Casagrande liquid limit apparatus confirming to IS9259 (1979).
b) Grooving tool confirming to IS9259 (1979).
c) Spatula has a blade about 8 cm long and 2 cm wide.
d) Mixing bowl.
e) Moisture cans for determination of moisture content.
f) Balance having an accuracy of 0.01 g.
g) Drying oven.
h) 425 m sieve.
i) 120 g of soil finer than 425 m.

Apparatus and materials needed for performing plastic limit test

a) Surface (glass plate) for rolling the thread.
b) Metal rod of 3 mm diameter and 10 cm long.
c) Spatula has a blade about 8 cm long and 2 cm wide.
d) Mixing bowl.
e) Moisture cans for determining moisture content.
f) Balance having an accuracy of 0.01 g.
g) Drying oven.
Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai- 600 036

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 Experiment # 6-PartB: Determination of Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit of Fine-grained Soils

h) 425 m sieve.
i) 20 g of soil finer than 425 m.

Procedure for determining the liquid limit of fine-grained soil

a) The liquid limit apparatus must be clean, dry, and oil-free. The height of the drop
of the Casagrande apparatus cup is checked using the gauge on the handle of the
grooving tool or a separate gauge so that the base of the cup falls through exactly
one centimeter for every revolution of the handle.
b) 120 g of the soil is thoroughly mixed with natural or distilled water or any pore
solution of interest.
c) A portion of the paste is placed in the cup and leveled parallel to the base using
the spatula, giving a depth of one centimeter at the point of maximum thickness.
d) A grove is cut through the sample using the grooving tool from back to front through
the center line of the sample. Starting near the hinge, draw the grooving tool
towards the front in a continuous movement with a circular motion, keeping the tool
normal to the cup surface. The completed groove must be clean and sharp.
e) Rotate the crank handle at a steady state of two revolutions per second to lift and
drop the cup of the Casagrande apparatus. Continue the rotation of the handle until
the two halves of the soil cake come in contact at the bottom of the grove along a
distance of about 12 mm. It should not slide on the bowl surface. Record the
number of blows required to close the grove.
f) 5 to 10 g of the representative sample from the cup is used to determine the water
content.
g) Repeat the test with different water contents of the sample. The specimen shall be
of such a consistency that the number of drops required to close the grove shall
not be less than 15 or not more than 35.

Procedure for determining the plastic limit of fine-grained soil

a) The soil sample is thoroughly mixed with distilled water till the soil mass becomes
plastic enough to shape into a small ball of about 1 to 2 cm in diameter.
b) The ball shall be rolled between the fingers and glass plate to form a thread of
approximately 3 mm in diameter. This diameter of the soil thread can be gauged
with the help of a 3 mm diameter metal rod.
c) If the thread diameter gets smaller than 3 mm without crumbling, the thread shall
be kneaded together to reduce the water content and made into a ball again. This
Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai- 600 036

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 Experiment # 6-PartB: Determination of Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit of Fine-grained Soils

process can be repeated until the thread crumbles when the diameter reaches
approximately 3 mm.
d) Collect a portion of the crumbled soil and determine its water content.
e) Repeat the test twice or thrice with another portion of the prepared sample. The
test values difference should not exceed 5%.

Calculations: Liquid limit of fine-grained soil

a) Flow index (If) value of the specimen using the following equation
𝑊1 −𝑊2
𝐼𝑓 = 𝑁 (2)
𝑙𝑜𝑔10 2
𝑁1

where, W1 is the moisture content in percent corresponding to N1 blows; W2 is the

moisture content in percent corresponding to N2 blows

b) Plasticity index (IP) = WL – WP

References
IS2720: Part V (2020). Method of test for soils: Determination of liquid and plastic limit.
Indian Standards Institute, New Delhi, India.

Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai- 600 036

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 Experiment # 6-PartB: Determination of Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit of Fine-grained Soils

Observations: Liquid limit of fine-grained soils

Date: ________________Roll number and signature of the TA:_____________

Name of the Student: __________________ Registration Number:____________

Trial Number 1 2 3 4 5 6

Number of blows

Container number

Empty weight of the

container, W1 (g)

Weight of the container

+ wet soil, W2 (g)

Weight of the container

+ dry soil, W3 (g)

Water content (%)=

[(W2-W3)/(W3-W1)]100

Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai- 600 036

Page 5 of 8
 Experiment # 6-PartB: Determination of Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit of Fine-grained Soils

A flow curve is plotted on a semi-logarithmic graph representing water content on the

arithmetic scale, and the number of blows on the logarithmic scale

Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai- 600 036

Page 6 of 8
 Experiment # 6-PartB: Determination of Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit of Fine-grained Soils

Observations: Plastic limit of fine-grained soils

Trial Number 1 2 3 4 5 6

Container number

Empty weight of the

container, W1 (g)

Weight of the container

+ wet soil, W2 (g)

Weight of the container

+ dry soil, W3 (g)

Plastic limit (%)= [(W2-

W3)/(W3-W1)]100

Results: Liquid limit and plastic limit of fine-grained soil

Liquid limit = _____________%
Plastic limit = _____________%
Plasticity index (IP) = _____________%

Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai- 600 036

Page 7 of 8
 Experiment # 6-PartB: Determination of Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit of Fine-grained Soils

Inferences on Atterberg limits of fine-grained soils (in your own 200 words)

Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai- 600 036

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