Department of Civil Engineering
Soil Mechanics Laboratory
Laboratory Exercise 3: Atterberg Limits Test
References
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ASTM D4318: Standard Test Method for Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit and Plasticity Index
of Soils.
Bowles, Joseph E., Engineering Properties of Soils and Their Measurement.
Lambe, T.W., Soil Testing for Engineers.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Laboratory Soils Testing, EM 110-2-1906.
Introduction
A fine-gained soil can exist in any of several states; which state depends on the amount of
water in the soil system. When water is added to a dry soil, each particle is covered with a film
of adsorbed water. If the addition of water is continued, the thickness of the water film on a
particle increases. Increasing the thickness of the water films permits the particles to slide past
one another more easily. The behavior of the soil, therefore, is related to the amount of water
in the system. Approximately sixty years ago, A. Atterberg defined the boundaries of four
states in terms of "limits" as follows:
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Liquid limit: The boundary between the liquid and plastic states;
Plastic limit: The boundary between the plastic and semi-solid states;
Shrinkage limit: The boundary between the semi-solid and solid states.
These limits have since been more definitely defined by A. Casagrande as the water contents
which exist under the following conditions:
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Liquid limit: The water content at which the soil has such a small shear strength
that it flows to close a groove of standard width when jarred in a specified manner.
Plastic limit: The water content at which the soil begins to crumble when rolled
into
threads of specified size.
Shrinkage limit: The water content that is just sufficient to fill the pores when the
soil is at the minimum volume it will attain by drying.
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The amount of water which must be added to change a soil from its plastic limit to its liquid
limit is an indication of the plasticity of the soil. The plasticity is measured by the "plasticity
index", which is equal to the liquid limit minus the plastic limit.
Although the liquid and plastic limits are necessarily determined on soils which have had their
natural structure completely destroyed by kneading or "remolding", the shrinkage limit can be
obtained on soils in either their undisturbed or their remolded states. The difference between
the undisturbed and remolded shrinkage limits may be an indication of the amount of natural
"structure" a soil possesses. Also the condition of an in situ soil is often partially revealed by
its "water-plasticity ratio", which is the ratio of the difference between the natural water
content and the plastic limit to the plasticity index. A high water plasticity ratio, which means
that the natural water content is high relative to the liquid limit, indicates a very low remolded
strength. For example, if the ratio is greater than 100%, the soil exists at a water content
greater than the liquid limit, and its remolded strength is thus less than that very small amount
which it would possess at the liquid limit.
The chemical and mineral composition, size, and shape of the soil particles influence the
adsorbed water films on the particles. Because such soil properties as compressibility,
permeability, and strength, as well as the limits are dependant on the water films, approximate
relationships exist between these properties and the limits. Some general relationships between
the limits and engineering properties as given by A. Casagrande are listed in Table 1.
TABLE 1: APPROXIMATE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SOIL PROPERTIES AND
ATTERBERG LIMITS
Characteristic
Equal LL, Increasing PI
Equal PI, Increasing LL
Compressibility
About the same
Increases
Permeability
Decreases
Increases
Rate of volume change
Decreases
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Toughness near PL
Increases
Decreases
Dry strength
Increases
Decreases
For a given soil, we can often set up definite semi-empirical relationships between a property
and the limits or indices.
From such expressions, we can then make predictions of the
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properties of another sample of the same soil by knowing the limits. Such a procedure is often
very helpful because the limits are usually more easily determined than the compressibility,
permeability or strength.
On construction jobs in which detailed studies of the underlying soil conditions are made, plots
of the limits against depth can be made (along with other test results).
The limits furnish an excellent basis for the classification and identification of fine-grained
soils. They are also often used directly in specifications for controlling soil for use in fills, and
in semi-empirical methods of design. For example, the design of flexible pavements by the
Federal Aeronautics Administration (FAA) method is partly based on the limits.
From the preceding discussion, we can see that even though the limits do not furnish numbers
which can be substituted directly into scientifically derived formulas, they are extremely useful
to the soil engineer.
Equipment (see figure 1)
1. Liquid limit device and grooving tool
2. Mixing bowl
3. Drying cans
4. Spatula
5. Large glass plate
6. Drying oven
7. Distilled water
8. Evaporating dishes
9. Balance (0.01 g sensitivity)
FIGURE 1 a & b. Equipment used for test.
Procedure
LIQUID LIMIT TEST:
1. Each group will pulverize a sufficient quantity of air dried soil to obtain approximately 250
10 g of material passing the #40 sieve. The residue remaining on the sieve should be
discarded since it is no longer representative of the sample. Be sure to break up the lumps
before sieving, since many of the fines are in these lumps. Do not oven dry the soil, since
this will reduce the liquid and plastic limits of the soil.
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2. Check the height of fall of their liquid-limit device. The device must be adjusted for a fall
of exactly 1 cm (not over .0.1 mm). Use the 1 cm calibration block on the end of the
grooving tool for making the adjustment. Make the adjustment with respect to the worn
spot on the base of the cup, not the shortest fall. If the height of the fall is not calibrated
within these limits, a water content error of several percent may be introduced, see figure
2, below.
Figure 2- Use of calibration block. Block can be moved back to ensure a 1
cm drop.
3. Place the 250 g of soil in a mixing dish, add a small amount of water, and carefully mix the
soil to a uniform color. Another major source of error is poor mixing of the soil-water
mixture. When the color is uniform throughout and the mixture has a creamy appearance,
proper mixing has generally been achieved. Continue to add small amounts of water and
mix the mass to a uniform color each time. When you have the soil to the point of
consistency (stickiness) where you estimate (or by making a trial test) it will take about 50
blows to close the standard groove in., remove about 20 g of the thoroughly mixed soil
from the dish. Set this sample aside for the plastic limit test. Now add more water and mix
to a uniform color until you have the soil to a consistency which will yield a blow count of
from 30 to 40 blows to close the standard groove inch.
4. Remove the brass cup from the liquid-limit machine and place a small amount of soil to the
correct depth of the grooving tool, and well centered in the cup with respect to the hinge.
Smooth the surface of the soil pat carefully, and using the grooving tool, cut a clean,
straight groove that completely separates the soil pat into two parts. The tool should be
held perpendicular to the instantaneous tangent to the cup surface so that the soil pat is not
trimmed too shallow in depth. The soil depth should be just barely trimmed with the
shoulders of the tool at the deepest part, see figure 3l. After making the groove, quickly
attach the cup to the device and make the blow count. The rate of rotation of the crank on
the Casagrande device should be about 2 revolutions per second. Stop the test after the
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groove has closed a length of 13 cm, see figure 3r. Unnecessary delays will affect the blow
counts; if the laboratory humidity is low, dry the soil surface. The effect will show when
plotting the data by giving an erratic locus of points. Other test errors will also do this,
however.
Figure 3 - Left, groove separating two halves of pat, right, stop blow counts after this length of
groove closes a length of 13 cm.
5. Repeat step 4 until 3 consistent blow counts are achieved for the water content. Take a
moisture sample in the pre-weighed moisture cups (as large as possible and of about 40
grams being sure to take the water content sample from the closed part of the groove.
Weigh this sample immediately and record the blow count and wet weight on the data
sheet. Remove the remainder of the soil from the brass cup and return it to the mixing dish.
Wash and dry the cup.
6. Add a small amount of water to the mixing dish of soil, and carefully mix to a uniform
color and consistency to yield a blow count of between 25 and 30 blows. Repeat steps 4
and 5.
7. Repeat the sequence for two additional tests for blow counts of between 20 and 25, and
between 15 to 20, for a total of at least four test determinations. Be sure to clean and dry
the brass cup between tests, and try to maintain a consistent time lapse for each test. Do
not allow the soil to sit in the brass cup for a long period of time before the test. This
would allow adhesion to build up, which would result in higher blow counts. The blow
count sequence is done in descending order to make sure the sample is well mixed. It is
much easier to add water and mix to a uniform consistency (resulting in lower blow counts)
than it is to add soil and mix to a uniform consistency. If too much water is added so that
the sample is driven to the wet side of 25 blow counts before a sufficient spread of data
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points is collected on the dry side of 25 blow counts, the sample should be air dried rather
than adding dry soil. Mixing or working the sample will help to quicken the drying time.
8. Place the cups of soil in the oven (105 to 110C) and dry 24 hours. When dry, weigh and
record the dry weight of the samples. Determine the water content of the samples, and
prepare a plot of water content versus blow count for your tests.
PLASTIC LIMIT TEST
1. Take 2 to 5 g of the material remaining from the liquid limit test. The material should be
taken at any stage of the drying process at which the mass becomes plastic enough to be
shaped into a ball easily without sticking to the fingers when squeezed.
2. Shape the specimen into an ellipsoidal mass and roll it either under the root of the fingers,
under the palm of the fingers, under the palm of the hand, or under the heel of the thumb
and against the glass plate. Use just enough pressure to roll the soil mass into a thread that
is 1/8 in. in diameter. When the diameter of the thread becomes 1/8 in. without crumbling,
fold and knead the thread into a ball again and repeat the rolling process. Continue
kneading and rolling the specimen until the soil has dried to the point where the rolled
thread will break into numerous pieces with a diameter of 1/8 in. and about 1/8 to 3/8 in. in
length, see figure 4 below.
Figure 4 a & b a) rolling a thread and b) rolled threads.
3. Place the pieces of the crumbled thread into a specimen container and determine the water
content. Repeat steps 1 and 2 three to four times with different portions of the prepared
material in order to check the plastic limit. Both tests should agree within 1/20 of the
plastic limit; otherwise the plastic limit test should be repeated.
DISCUSSION OF THE PROCEDURE
The American Society for Testing Materials and the American Association of State Highway
Officials permit the use of the "hand method" of determining the liquid limit in addition to that
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given in this lab procedure. In the hand method, a tool is used to cut a groove (same size as in
the mechanical method) in a soil paste contained in an evaporating dish. The water content is
adjusted until the groove is closed by jarring the dish lightly against the heel of the hand ten
times. The liquid limit is this adjusted water content.
A simplified procedure for determining the liquid limit has been investigated. The method is
based on the assumption that the slope of the plot of blows on log scale against water content
on log scale is a straight line with a constant slope. If this assumption were correct, the liquid
limit could be obtained from any point on the curve. Based on 767 liquid limit tests, the
discovery was made that for the soils investigated the liquid limit, wl, could be found from:
wl = wN(N/25)0.121
in which wN = the water content of the soil which closes in N blows in the standard liquid limit
device.
Natural soils used for liquid and plastic limit determinations should not be dried prior to testing
because drying may alter the soil by causing the particles to subdivided or agglomerate, by
driving off adsorbed water which is not completely regained on rewetting, or by effecting a
chemical change in any organic matter in the soil. These effects can significantly change the
limits, especially the liquid limit. The liquid limit of oven dried organic soils tends to be lower
than that of the undried. On the other hand, the effect of drying on some clays (particularly
those composed of minerals of the montmorillonite group) cannot be predicted. For example,
the liquid limit of an air-dried sample of a soil was 20% greater than that determined on the soil
not previously dried, whereas the liquid limit of an oven-dried sample of the same soil was 24%
less than that determined on the undried soil.
Calculations
The limits, expressed as water contents, are obtained as follows:
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Liquid Limit: wl, is read from the flow curve as the water content at 25 blows.
Plastic Limit: wp is the water content of the soil which crumbled when 1/8 in. threads were
rolled (the average of the consistent determinations made).
Atterberg indices can be calculated from the limits as follows:
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Plasticity Index: Ip = wl wp
Flow Index: If = slope of water content versus blows curve
Toughness Index: It = Ip/If
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Department of Civil Engineering
Soil Mechanics Laboratory
Errors in computing the liquid or plastic limits sometimes can be detected by plotting the values
of liquid limit versus plasticity index with reference to the upper limit line on the plasticity
chart (shown in Figure 3.2 in Holtz and Kovacs, 1981). The upper limit line starts from a
liquid limit of 8 at a plasticity index of 0 and rises toward the right with a slope of 9 vertically
on 10 horizontally; the equation of the upper limit line, therefore, is wi = 0.9 (wl - 8).
Be aware that other name conventions are in use and they may be encountered in the literature.
The following name conventions are commonly used:
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wl and LL for the liquid limit
wp and PL for the plastic limit
Ip and PI for the plasticity index
Possible Errors
GENERAL
1. The specimen is not representative of the soil. The liquid and plastic limits must be
determined using the same mixture of soil as that used for determination of natural water
content or for other tests.
2. Specimen is improperly prepared.
The specimens must be thoroughly mixed and be
permitted to cure for a sufficient period before testing. Erroneous results may be caused by
the loss of colloidal material when removing particles coarser than the No. 40 sieve or by
testing air-dried or oven-dried soils.
3. Inaccurate determination of the water contents would greatly affect the computed liquid and
plastic limits because of the small quantities of material available for the water content
determinations.
4. Computational mistakes.
LIQUID LIMIT TEST
1. Improperly constructed or adjusted liquid limit device.
2. Worn parts of liquid limit device especially at point of contact between the cup and the
base, or worn tip of grooving tool.
3. Soil at the point of contact between the cup and the base. Removing the cup for shaping
and grooving the sample will insure that the bottom of the cup and the top of the base are
clean. Any soil that has dropped onto the base can be removed with one stroke of the back
of the hand before replacing the cup.
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4. Loss of- moisture during the test. Erratic and erroneous results may be caused by drying of
some soil mixtures unless the test is performed in a humid room.
PLASTIC LIMIT TEST
1. Rolling thread under fingers will break the thread prematurely.
2. Incorrect final thread diameter. A length of 1/8 in. diameter metal rod close at hand will
help in estimating this diameter accurately.
3. Stopping the rolling process too soon. If there is any doubt as to whether the thread has
crumbled sufficiently, it is better to roll the thread once more than to stop the process too
soon.
Atterberg Limits and Natural Water Content
Analyst Name:_____________________________
Date:____________
Test No._________
Project Information:
Project Name:____________________________ Project Location:________________________
Boring No.:_______________
Sample No.:________________
Depth:_________________
Notes:_________________________________________________________________________
Sample Description:
Source:_____________________________ Condition:_________________________________
Vis. Class. & USCS Symbol:_______________________________________________________
Plasticity:________ Dilatancy:__________ Toughness:___________ Dry Strength:___________
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Department of Civil Engineering
Plastic Limit and Natural Water Content:
Test Type
Container #
Container Wt ( )
Wet Wt + Container ( )
Dry Wt + Container ( )
Wt of Water ( )
Dry Wt of Soil ( )
Water Content (%)
Liquid Limit:
Container #
No. of Blows
Container Wt. ( )
Wet Wt + Container ( )
Dry Wt + Container ( )
Wt of Water ( )
Dry Wt of Soil ( )
Water Content (%)
Soil Mechanics Laboratory
