Index properties of soils
Generally ,properties of soils can be classified as
engineering and index properties of soil.
A) Engineering properties of soil; the main engineering
properties of soil are ,permeability, compressibility, and
shear strength of soil.
B) index properties of soil; are the properties of soil which
are not the primary interest of geotechnical engineer but
which are indicative of engineering properties.
The main index properties for coarse grained soil are
particle size and relative density.
The main index properties for fine grained soil are
Atterberg limits and consistency.
the physical and mechanical behavior of fine-grained soils
linked to four distinct states, solid, semi solid, plastic and
liquid, in order of increasing water content.
Changes in soil states as a function of soil
volume and water content
At point B, the soil becomes so stiff that it can no
longer
flow as a liquid. The boundary water content at point
B is called the liquid limit; it is denoted by LL.
As the soil continues to dry, there is a range of water
content at which the soil can be molded into any
desired shape without rupture.
The soil at this state is said to exhibit plastic behavior
—the ability to deform continuously without rupture.
. But if drying is continued beyond the range of water
content for plastic behavior, the soil becomes a
semisolid.
The soil cannot be molded now without visible cracks
appearing. The water content at which the soil changes
from a plastic to a semisolid is known as the plastic
limit, denoted by PL.
The range of water contents over which the soil
deforms plastically is known as the plasticity index, PI
PI= LL-PL
As the soil continues to dry, it comes to a final state called
the solid state.
At this state, no further volume change occurs since
nearly all the water in the soil has been removed.
The water content at which the soil changes from a
semisolid to a solid is called the shrinkage limit, denoted by
SL.
The shrinkage limit is useful for the determination of the
swelling and shrinking capacity of soils.
The liquid and plastic limits are called the Atterberg
limits after their originator, Swedish soil scientist
•Atterberg (1911).
At one extreme, the liquid state, the soil has the lowest
strength and the largest deformation.
At the other extreme, the solid state, the soil has the
largest strength and the lowest deformation.
A measure of soil strength using the Atterberg limits is
known as the liquidity index (LI) and is expressed as;
Skempton (1953) showed that for soils with a particular
mineralogy, the plasticity index is linearly related to the
amount of the clay fraction.
He coined a term called activity (A) to describe the
importance of the clay fractions on the plasticity index.
The equation for A is
Example
A fine-grained soil has a liquid limit of 300% and a
plastic limit of 55%. The natural water content of the
soil in the field is 80% and the clay content is 60%.
(a) Determine the plasticity index, the liquidity index,
and the activity.
(b) What is the soil state in the field?
(c) What is the predominant mineral in this soil?
Solution
b) based on LI= 0.1 ,the soil is plastic state
c) based on LL=300, the predominant mineral is
montmorillonite
DETERMINATION OF THE LIQUID, PLASTIC, AND
SHRINKAGE LIMITS
Casagrande Cup Method—ASTM D 4318
The liquid limit is determined from an apparatus that
consists of a semispherical brass cup that is repeatedly
dropped onto a hard rubber base from a height of 10
mm by a cam-operated mechanism.
Arthur Casagrande (1932) developed this apparatus,
and the procedure for the test is called the Casagrande
cup method.
Typical liquid limit results from the Casagrande cup
method.
The liquid limit is read from the graph as the water
content on the liquid state line corresponding to 25 blows.
Plastic Limit Test—ASTM D 4318
The plastic limit is determined by rolling a small clay
sample into threads and finding the water content at
which threads approximately 3 mm in diameter will just
start to crumble .
Two or more determinations are made, and the average
water content is reported as the plastic limit.
Shrinkage Limit—ASTM D 427 and D 4943
The shrinkage limit is determined as follows. A mass of
wet soil, M1, is placed in a porcelain dish 44.5 mm in
diameter and 12.5 mm high and then oven-dried.
The volume of oven-dried soil is determined by using
mercury (ASTM D 427) to occupy the vacant spaces
caused by shrinkage.
The mass of the mercury is determined, and the volume
decrease caused by shrinkage can be calculated from the
known density of mercury. The shrinkage limit is
calculated from
The range of water content from the plastic limit to the
shrinkage limit is called the shrinkage index (SI),
The shrinkage limit can be estimated from the liquid
limit and plasticity index by the following empirical
expression
where LL and PI are in percent.
Example
A liquid limit test, conducted on a soil sample in the cup
device, gave the following results:
and two determinations for the plastic limit gave water
contents of 20.3% and 20.8%.
Determine
(a) the liquid limit and plastic limit,
(b) the plasticity index,
(c) the liquidity index if the natural water content is
27.4%, and
(d) the void ratio at the liquid limit if Gs = 2.7. If the
soil were to be loaded to failure, would you expect a
brittle failure?
Solution
A) Plot the data
From the graph , the LL= 38% and
B) PI= LL- PL= 38- 20.6=17.4%
C)
D) Assume the soil is saturated at the liquid limit. For
a saturated soil, e =wGs. Thus,
eLL= LLGs= 0.38* 2.7= 1.03
as the soil is in a plastic state (0 < LI <1). the soil is not
brittle
Consistency of soil
soil consistency is the strength with which soil
materials are held together or
the resistance of soils to deformation and rupture.
it is indicated by the terms such as soft, medium, and
hard. this property is defined only for fine grained
soil. specially for clays.
The consistency index indicates the consistency or
firmness of the soil.
it shows the nearness of the water content of the soil to
its plastic limit.
Consistency of index Ic, of soil can be calculate as
if Ic= 0 the soil is at its liquid limit. it is then extremely soft and
has negligible shear strength.
if the water content equal to the plastic limit ,Ic=100, the soil is
relatively firm.
if Ic >100 the soil is relatively strong,as it is semi solid state.
