1.

0 INTRODUCTION

The following moisture conditions - liquid unlit, plastic limit, along with
shrinkage limit are referred to as the "Atterberg Limits", after the originator of the
test procedures. Semi-Solid .StagySolid State Atterbera Limits and Indices. The
plastic limit, also known as the lower plastic limit, is the water content at which a
soil changes from the plastic state to a semisolid state. A plastic limit set is an
apparatus that is used to determine the plastic limit of soil.

The change from a semisolid state to a plastic state of soil is a gradual

process. According to a standard empirical definition, the plastic limit is the water
content at which a soil passing a 0.425mm sieve can be rolled into threads one-
eighth inch in diameter without the soil breaking into pieces. Generally, the terms
plastic limit and liquid limit are used together for soil identification and
classification.

Definition

The method described herein is based upon A_ASHTO Designation T89

which has been modified for New York State Department of Transportation
use. The liquid limit of a soil is the moisture content, expressed as a percentage of
the weight of the oven-dried soil. at the boundary between the liquid and plastic
states of consistency. The moisture content at this boundary is arbitrarily defiled
 as the water content at which two halves of a soil ca1Le will flow together, for a
distance of l,- in.(12.7 min) along the bottom of a groove of standard dimensions
separating the two halves, when the cup of a standard liquid limit apparatus is
dropped 25 times from height of 0.3937 in. (10 nun) at the rate of two
drops/second.

2.0 THEORY

Plastic limit ( P w ) of soil is defined as the water content at which a soil

will just begin to crumble when rolled into a thread of approximately 3 mm in
diameter. It is water content at the boundary between the plastic and semi-solid
states of consistency of the soil. Plasticity index (PI or IP) is the numerical
difference of the liquid and plastic limit, and indicates the range of water content
through which the soil remains plastic.

PI = LL – PL

For fine grained soils, determining the natural water content (the water
content of a soil in an undisturbed condition in the ground) and relating it to the
plastic and liquid limits can provide an indication of the soil’s consistency and/or
sensitivity potential. One such relationship is the liquidity index.

w  PL
IL 
PI

Consistency index is defined as the ratio of the liquid limit minus the natural
water content to the plasticity index of a soil.

LL  w
Cr 
PI

Plasticity Index Degree of Plasticity Type of Soil

 (IP or PI)

0 Non-Plastic Sand

<7 Low-Plastic Silt

7-17 Medium Plastic Silty clay or clayey silt

> 17 Highly Plastic Clay

Classification of soil according to plasticity.

Liquidity Index (IL or LI) Consistency

< 0.0 Desiccated (dry) hard soil

0.0-0.25 Stiff

0.25-0.50 Medium to soft

0.50-0.75 Soft

0.75-1.00 Very soft

>1.00 Liquid s

Classification of soil according to liquidity indices.