MODULE 4 – GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

PLASTICITY
 Plasticity of the soil is defined as its property by virtue of
which it undergoes deformation without cracking, fracturing
or rupturing.
 In the early 1900s, a Swedish scientist named Atterberg
developed a method to describe the consistency of fine-
grained soils with varying moisture contents.
 At a very low moisture content, soil behaves more like a
solid. When the moisture content is very high, the soil and
water may flow like a liquid.
 Hence, on an arbitrary basis, depending on moisture
content, the behavior of soil can be divided into four basic
states – solid, semisolid, plastic, and liquid.
ATTERBERG LIMITS
SHRINKAGE LIMIT
moisture content, in percent at which the transition from
solid to semisolid state takes place.
PLASTIC LIMIT
moisture content at the point of transition from semisolid to
plastic state.
LIQUID LIMIT
moisture content at the point of transition from plastic to
liquid state.
LIQUID LIMIT
A schematic diagram of a liquid limit device is shown in the figure.
This device consists of a brass cup and a hard rubber base. The
brass cup can be dropped onto the base by a cam operated by a
crank.

To perform the liquid limit test, one must place a soil paste in the
cup. A groove is then cut at the center of the soil pat with the
standard grooving tool. By the use of the crank –operated cam,
the cup is lifted and dropped from a height of 10 mm

The moisture content, in percent, required to close a distance of

12.7 mm along the bottom of the groove after 25 blows is defined
as the liquid limit.
It is difficult to adjust the moisture content in the soil to meet the
required 12.7 mm closure of the groove in the soil pat at 25 blows.
Hence, at least three tests for the same soil are conducted at
varying moisture contents, with the number of blows, N, required
to achieve closure varying between 15 and 35.
The moisture content of the soil, in percent, and the
corresponding number of blows are plotted in semilogarithmic
paper.

The relationship between moisture content and log N is

approximated as a straight line. This line is referred to as the flow
curve. The moisture content corresponding to N=25, determined
from the flow curve, gives the liquid limit of the soil.

The slope of the flow line is defined as the flow index and may be
written as
Another method of determining liquid limit is the fall cone method.
In this test, the liquid limit is defined as the moisture content at
which a standard cone of apex angle 30° and weight of 0.78 N
will penetrate a distance 𝑑 = 20 𝑚𝑚 in 5 seconds when allowed
to drop from a position of point contact with the soil surface.

Due to the difficulty in achieving the liquid limit from a single test,
four or more tests can be conducted at various moisture contents
to determine the fall cone penetration, d. A semi-logarithmic
graph can then be plotted with moisture content (w) versus cone
penetration d.

The plot results in a straight line. The moisture content

corresponding to 𝑑 = 20 𝑚𝑚 is the liquid limit.
The flow index can be defined as
PLASTIC LIMIT
The plastic limit is defined as the moisture content in percent, at
which the soil crumbles, when rolled into threads of 4.2mm in
diameter.
The plastic limit test is performed by repeated rollings of an
ellipsoidal-sized soil mass by hand on a ground glass plate.

Similar with liquid limit determination, the fall cone method can be
used to obtain the plastic limit. This can be achieved by using a
cone of similar geometry but with a mass of 2.35 N. The moisture
content corresponding to a cone penetration of 𝑑 = 20 𝑚𝑚 is the
plastic limit.

PLASTICITY INDEX
The plasticity index (PI) is the difference between the liquid limit
and the plastic limit of a soil, or

It is important in classifying fine-grained soils. It is fundamental to

the Casagrande plasticity chart, which is currently the basis for
the Unified Soil Classification System.
SAMPLE PROBLEM 1
Following are the results from the liquid and plastic limit tests for
a soil.
Liquid limit test:

Plastic limit test: PL = 18.7%

a. Draw the flow curve and obtain the liquid limit
b. What is the plasticity index of the soil?
c. Determine the flow index
SHRINKAGE LIMIT
Soil shrinks as moisture is gradually lost from it. With continuing
loss of moisture, a point will be reached where more loss of
moisture will result in no further volume change.
The moisture content, in percent, at which the volume of the soil
mass ceases to change is defined as the shrinkage limit.
SHRINKAGE RATIO
Another parameter that can be determined from a shrinkage limit
test is the shrinkage ratio, which is the ratio of the volume change
of soil as a percentage of the dry volume to the corresponding
change in moisture content, or

SAMPLE PROBLEM 2
Following are the results of a shrinkage limit test:
• Initial volume of soil in a saturated state = 24.6 cm3
• Final volume of soil in a dry state = 15.9 cm3
• Initial mass in a saturated state = 44.0 g
• Final mass in a dry state = 30.1 g
a) Determine the shrinkage limit of the soil.
b) Determine the shrinkage ratio.
LIQUIDITY INDEX AND CONSISTENCY

The relative consistency of a cohesive soil in the natural state can

be defined by a ratio called the liquidity index, which is given by

Another index that is commonly used for engineering purposes is

the consistency index, which may be defined as

SAMPLE PROBLEM 3
Refer to Sample Problem 1 and determine the liquidity index
when the in situ moisture content is 26%.
PLASTICITY CHART
Casagrande studied the relationship of the plasticity index to the
liquid limit of a wide variety of natural soils. On the basis of the
test results, he proposed a plasticity chart as shown in the figure.

An empirical A-line with an equation 𝑃𝐼 = 0.73(𝐿𝐿 − 20) separates

the inorganic clays from the inorganic silts.
• Inorganic clay values lie above the A-line
• Inorganic silts lie below the A-line

• Organic silts plot below the A-line and with LL ranging

from 30 to 50
 • Organic clays plot below the A-line and LL greater than
50

Note that a U-line with an equation 𝑃𝐼 = 0.9(𝐿𝐿 − 8) lies above the

A-line. The U-line is approximately the upper limit of the
relationship of the plasticity index to the liquid limit for any
currently known soil.
ACTIVITY
Skempton (1953) observed that the plasticity index of a soil
increases linearly with the percentage of clay-size fraction (%
finer than 2 𝜇𝑚 by weight) present.
He defined a quantity called activity, which is the slope of the line
correlating PI and % finer than 2 𝜇𝑚. This may be expressed as