4.

ATTERBERG LIMITS OF FINE-GRAINED SOIL

A) Aim: To determine the liquid limit of the soil using Casagrande liquid limit
apparatus with soft base.

Theory: Definitions: Liquid limit, Plastic limit, Shrinkage limit, Plasticity index,
Consistency index, Liquidity index, Toughness index, Flow index; Applications of
Atterberg limits.

Apparatus
1. Casagrande liquid limit apparatus
2. Casagrande grooving tool of standard dimensions (Type A)
3. Glass plate, 10 mm thick and about 45 cm square
4. Spatula
5. Balance, sensitive to 0.01 g
6. Thermostatically controlled hot air oven
7. Airtight and non-corrodible containers for moisture content determination.
8. Wash bottle containing distilled water.
9. 425 micron IS sieve.

Procedure
1. Using the gauge on the handle of the grooving tool or a separate gauge, adjust the
height through which the cup of the Casagrande apparatus is lifted and dropped so
that the point on the cup which comes in content with the base falls through exactly
one centimeter for one revolution of the handle. Then, tighten the adjustment
screws.
2. Take about 120 g of soil sample passing through 425 micron IS sieve and mix it
thoroughly with distilled water on the glass plate to form uniform paste. Allow
sufficient time to ensure uniform moisture distribution throughout the soil mass.
3. Remix the soil thoroughly. Take a portion of the soil paste with the spatula and
place it in the central portion of the cup and spread it into position with the spatula
so that the soil surface is parallel to the rubber base with the maximum depth of the
soil as
1.0 cm at the centre.
4. With the help of the grooving tool, divide the soil paste in the cup along the
diameter of the cup (through the centre line of the cam follower) to get a clean,
sharp groove of proper dimensions.
5. Turn the handle of the apparatus at a rate of 2 revolutions per second until the two
parts of the soil paste come in contact at the bottom of the groove for a distance of
about 12 mm and record the number of revolutions to achieve this.
6. Collect a representative sample of the soil by moving the spatula normal to the
groove, width wise from the portion of the groove where the soil flowed together
and put it in a container and determine its water content by oven drying method.

Contd......

11
 Geotechnical Engineering Lab Instruction Manual

7. Transfer the remaining soil in the cup back on to the glass plate. Dry the soil by
kneading the wet soil using spatula.
8. Repeat the steps 3 to 6 to get a minimum of 5 trials. The trials are conducted such
that the number of blows is in the range 25 ± 10.
9. Plot a "flow curve" on a semi-log sheet with water content on y-axis (arithmetic
scale) and number of blows on x-axis (log scale). Draw a well defined straight line
through the points. Record the moisture content corresponding to 25 blows and
round off to the nearest whole number and report it as the liquid limit of the soil.
Measure the slope of the line, which represents the flow index (If).

Observations and Calculations

Soil: Period of soaking before the test:

Determination No. 1 2 3 4 5
Number of blows
Container No.
Mass of the (container +
wet soil) g
Mass of the (container +
dry soil) g
Mass of water g
Mass of container g
Mass to dry soil g
Moisture content (w) %

From the flow curve:

i) Liquid limit of the soil = wL =
ii) Flow index = If =
w 2  w1  =
N2 
log10 
 N1 

Relevant BIS Code: 
IS: 2720, Part-5, 1985

B) Aim: To determine the plastic limit of the soil sample and to calculate plasticity
index, Toughness index of fine-grained soil.

Apparatus
1. Flat glass plate, 10 mm thick and about 45 cm square.
2. Spatula
3. Balance, sensitive to 0.01 g
4. Thermostatically controlled oven
5. Airtight and non-corrodible containers for moisture content determination.
6. Wash bottle containing distilled water
7. 425 mircon IS sieve
8. 3 mm diameter rod of about 10 cm length.

Procedure
1. Take about 20 g of soil sample, passing 425 micron IS sieve. Mix it on the glass
plate with sufficient distilled water to make it plastic enough to be shaped into a
ball. Allow the soil to stand for sufficient time to ensure uniform distribution of
moisture throughout the soil mass.
2. With about 8 g of soil so prepared, make a ball and roll it on the glass plate with
hand, with pressure just sufficient to roll the soil mass into a thread of uniform
diameter throughout its length. When the diameter of the thread reaches 3 mm,
kneed the soil together to a uniform mass and once again roll it. Continue the
process until the soil thread just crumbles at 3mm diameter.
3. Collect the crumbled soil threads in a container and determine the corresponding
water content by oven drying method.
4. Repeat the test to have three trials.
5. Report the average water content rounded off to the nearest whole number as the
plastic limit of the soil.

Observations and Calculations

Determination No. 1 2 3
Container No.
Mass of (container + wet soil) g
Mass of (container + dry soil) g
Mass of water g
Mass of container g
Mass of dry soil g
Water content (w) %
Plastic limit (wp) %

Contd......

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 Geotechnical Engineering Lab Instruction Manual

Calculations
Plasticity index = Ip
= wL - wp
Toughness index =
IT = Ip / If = Soil
classification:

Relevant
IS Code:
IS: 2720,
Part-5,
1985
Aim: To
determine
the
shrinkage
characterist
ics of fine-
grained
soil.

Apparatus
1. Evaporating dish of porcelain, about 12 cm in dia with a pour out and flat bottom.
2. Shrinkage dish with a flat bottom, 45 mm in dia and 15 mm height internally.
3. Glass cup of 50 mm dia and 24 mm height.
4. Plain glass plate of dimensions 75 mm x 75 mm x 3 mm.
5. Pronged glass plate of dimensions 75 mm x 75 mm x 3 mm with three
prongs fixed to the plate at 1200 from each other and spacing of 30 mm
center to center.
6. spatula
7. straight edge
8. 425 micron IS sieve
9. Balance, sensitive to 0.1 g to 0.01 g.
10. Thermostatically controlled hot air oven
11. Wash bottle containing distilled water
12. Desiccator
13. Mercury
Note: Instead of glass instruments, instruments made of Perspex may be
used to avoid damage to the glass instruments.

Procedure
1. Determine the mass of the clean, empty shrinkage dish. Fill the shrinkage
dish to overflowing with mercury. Remove the excess by pressing the
plain glass plate firmly over the top of the dish. Record the mass of the
mercury in the shrinkage dish. This mass when divided by the unit mass
of mercury gives the volume of the dish which itself represents the
volume of the wet soil mass to be placed in the shrinkage dish.
2. Take about 100 gm of soil sample passing 425 micron IS sieve.
3. Place about 30 g of soil in evaporating dish and mix it thoroughly with
distilled water such that all the soil voids are completely filled and the
soil becomes pasty enough to be readily worked into the shrinkage dish
without entrapping air bubbles. The water content of the soil paste shall
be approximately equal to the liquid limit of the soil.
4. Coat the inside surface of the shrinkage dish with a thin layer of silicon
grease to prevent the adhesion of the soil to the dish. Fill the shrinkage
dish by well mixed soil paste to one third its volume and tap it on a firm
cushioned surface. Place some more soil and repeat this process until the
paste is thoroughly compacted and all included air has been removed.
When the dish is completely filled up, strike off the excess soil paste with
a straight edge and wipe off all the soil paste adhering to the outside
surface of the shrinkage dish.
Contd.
.....
5. Record the mass of the shrinkage dish with the wet soil mass in it. Allow
the soil pat to dry in air until the colour of the pat turns from dark to light,
which may take one day to about a week depending upon the type of soil.
Then, dry the pat in an oven to constant mass. Cool it in a desiccator and
record the mass of the shrinkage dish with the dry soil pat immediately.
6. Fill the glass cup to overflowing with mercury and remove the excess by
pressing the glass with three prongs. Place the cup with mercury in the
evaporating dish without spilling any mercury from the cup. Place the
oven dried soil pat on the surface of the mercury in the cup. Then,
carefully force the pat into the mercury by means of glas plate with
prongs. Collect the displaced mercury and record its mass. Determine its
volume, which itself represents the volume of the dry soil pat.
7. Conduct three trials for each soil and report the average value of the
shrinkage limit. If any individual value varies from the average by ± 2 %,
discarded the test results and repeat the test.

Results and Discussions

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Soil:
Liquid Plastic Plasticity Flow Toughness Shrinkage Shrinkage Volumetric
Limit limit index index index limit ratio shrinkage
(wL) (wp) (Ip) (If) (IT) (ws) (R) (Vs)

Observations and Calculations:

Soil:
Determination No. 1 2
(a) Determination of water content of wet soil pat:
1. Shrinkage dish number
2. Mass of Shrinkage dish g
3. Mass of (Shrinkage dish + wet soil pat) g
4. Mass of (Shrinkage dish + dry soil pat) g
5. Mass of dry soil pat (M d ) g
6. Mass of water (Mw) g
7. Water content of the soil (w) Ratio

Contd......