Introduction:

Liquid limit:

At the point when water is added to dry soil, it changes its condition of consistency from hard to
soft. When water is added to dry soil mass than soil changes its state of consistency from hard to
soft. If water is added to a fine grained soil, then water will change its consistency from hard
state to semi hard state. If we continue to add more water in the soil mass then again the soil will
change its state of consistency from semi hard to plastic and finally there is a liquid consistency
stage. When the soil reaches liquid consistency stage, it has remained no cohesive strength to
retain its shape under its own weight. It will start deforming its shape. So the amount of water
which is responsible for this state of consistency of soil mass is called liquid limit of that soil. In
other words liquid limit can be defined as,

It is the minimum water content at which the soil mass is still in the liquid state, but has a small
shearing strength against flow.

From test point of view it can be defined as,

Liquid limit is defined as the minimum water content at which a soil mass cut by a groove of
standard dimension will flow together for a distance of 12 mm (1/2 inch) under an impact of 25
blows in the Casagrande device.

According to fall cone test method Liquid Limit can be defined as

The moisture content at which the cone (fall cone test) penetrates with in the soil mass for 1 cm
when falls freely for 5 seconds.

Liquid limit of soil mass is a very important characteristic of fine grained soil (or cohesive soil).
Its value is used to classify fine grained soil. It gives the information regarding the state of
consistency of soil on site. Liquid limit of soil can be used to indicate the consolidation
properties of soil masses while calculating allowable bearing capacity & settlement of
foundation. Liquid limit value of soil is also used to calculate activity of clays, plasticity index
and toughness index of soil.
Plastic limit:

The water content at which the soil mass begins to crumble when rolled into threads of specific
size. The Plastic Limit, also known as the lower plastic limit, is the water content at which a soil
mass changes from the plastic state to a semisolid state.

It is defined as

The moisture content at which the soil mass behaves like a plastic material is called plastic
limit of the soil.

Or

The moisture content at which the soil masses changes from plastic state to semi solid state"

Or

It may be defined as, The moisture content at which the soil mass begins to crumble when
rolled up into a thread of 3 mm in diameter.

Aim:

This experiment is performed to determine the plastic and liquid limits of a fine grained soil
mass. The liquid limit (LL) is defined as the water content, in percent, at which a part of a soil
mass in a standard cup and cut by a groove of standard dimensions will flow together at the base
of the groove for a distance of 12 mm (1/2 in.) when subjected to 25 shocks from the cup being
dropped 10 mm in a standard liquid limit Casagrande apparatus operated at a rate of two shocks
per second and also by the fall cone method. The plastic limit (PL) is the water content, in
percent, at which a soil can no longer be deformed by rolling into threads without crumbling.

Method:

Liquid limit Procedure:

1. Before starting the test adjust the height of drop of the cup using the gauge on the
grooving tool.
 2. Take roughly weight of the soil and place it into the neat porcelain dish. Assume that the
soil mass was previously passed though a No. 40 sieve, air-dried, and then pulverized.
Thoroughly mix the soil mass with a small amount of water until it appears as a smooth
uniform paste. Cover the dish with to prevent moisture from escaping.
3. Weigh empty moisture cans for determining moisture content with their lids, and record
the respective weights and can numbers on the data sheet.
4. Place some portion of the previously well mixed soil into the cup of the liquid limit
apparatus at the point where the cup rests on the base. Squeeze the soil down to eliminate
air bubbles and spread it into the cup to a depth of about 10 mm.
5. Use the grooving tool carefully cut a clean straight groove down the center of the cup.
The tool should remain perpendicular to the surface of the cup at all times through the
groove. Care should be taken to prevent sliding the soil relative to the surface of the cup.
6. Lift and drop the cup by turning the crank at the rate of 2 revolutions per second, until the
two halves of the soil sample flow together and come in contact at the bottom of the
groove along a distance of 10 mm. Record the number of drops or blows required to close
the groove this distance.
7. Approximately 4 tests are performed with changing water content and record the number
of blows against each test.
8. The samples are weighted and placed in the oven for the determination of moisture
content.

Liquid limit using fall cone method:

1. Fill the rigid cup with soil sample paste using a palette knife and put a sufficient
pressure on the knife to ensure removal of any air bubble in the cup.

2. Continuing adding the soil mass into the cup until the soil mass is above the rim of the
cup.

3. Cup should be filled and leveled carefully. Lower the cone carefully so that its tip just
hits the top surface of the soil, and then clamp it in that position.

4. Lower the dial gauge plunder of the device to contact the top of the sliding shaft and
record the dial gauge reading to the nearest 0.1 mm and represent as (R1).
 5. Release the cone from apparatus freely and allow to penetrate into the soil for a period
of 5 second. Then, reclamp it. Take care not to jerk the cone apparatus.

6. Now lower the dial gauge plunger to contact the top of the sliding shaft and record the
dial gauge reading to the nearest 0.1 mm and represent as (R2).

7. Determine the cone penetration by (R2 R1) and Lift out the cone and clean it.

8. Four tests were performed on the soil sample so that the penetrations values lay between
15 mm to 25 mm are obtained.

9. These samples were collected, weighed, numbered and placed in the oven to determine
their moisture contents.

10. The results of water content vs. cone penetration are plotted on a semi log graph. A line
of best fit was produced. The liquid limit is determined as the water content at a cone
penetration of 20 mm. This liquid limit by fall cone method is called the cone liquid
limit of the soil.

Procedure for plastic limit:

1. A stiff sample of natural soil mass was taken as a sample and shaped into a 10 mm
round ball.
2. This ball was then rolled on the plate with the flat of one hand at gentle pressure and
constant rolling (slightly > 1 back and forth stroke per second) to form a snake type
shape.
3. This process was continued until the thread of soil mass sample crumbles. For this soil a
very fine thread was achieved due the plasticity of the soil mass sample.
4. The desired result for this plastic limit test is to have the soil mass crumble at a thread
diameter of three millimeters.
5. The soil mass sample was dried out considerably by continually rolling the sample in
hands until the desired crumbling of the soil took place. This test was repeated twice
more and the samples were weighed and placed in the oven to determine moisture
contents of the soil samples.
Results and analysis:

Mass of Water
Water Content% = *100
Mass of Soil

Cup Method: Table 1 Liquid Limit Water Content Values for Various Blows

Liquid Limit

Tin Number of Empty tin Wet sample + Dry sample + Water

number Blows weight (g) tin weight tin weight (g) Content
(g)

5001 26 8.22 25.61 20.89

5002 19 8.12 39.47 30.68
5003 51 8.18 33 26.46
5004 12 8.26 42.53 32.74
Liquid Limit at 25 Blows = %