Introduction

The objective of the Atterberg limits test is to obtain basic index information about the soil used to estimate strength and settlement characteristics. It is the primary form of classification for cohesive soils. Fine-grained soil is tested to determine the liquid and plastic limits, which are moisture contents that define boundaries between material consistency states. These standardized tests produce comparable numbers used for soil identification, classification and correlations to strength. The liquid (LL) and plastic (PL) limits define the water content boundaries between non-plastic, plastic and viscous fluid states. The plasticity index (PI) defines the complete range of plastic state. Figure 1 illustrates it nicely. The Atterberg limits are a basic measure of the nature of a fine-grained soil. Depending on the water content of the soil, it may appear in four states: solid, semi-solid, plastic and liquid. In each state the consistency and behavior of a soil is different and thus so are its engineering properties. Thus, the boundary between each state can be defined based on a change in the soil's behavior. The Atterberg limits can be used to distinguish between silt and clay, and it can distinguish between different types of silts and clays. These limits were created by Albert Atterberg, a Swedish chemist. They were later refined by Arthur Casagrande. These distinctions in soil are used in picking the soils to build structures on top of. These tests are mainly used on clayey or silty soils since these are the soils that expand and shrink due to moisture content. Clays and silts react with the water and thus change sizes and have varying shear strengths.

Conclusion

Atterberg originally defined seven limits of consistency to classify fine-grained soils, but in current engineering practice only two of the limits, the liquid and plastic limits, are commonly used. The Atterberg limits are based on the moisture content of the soil. The plastic limit is the moisture content that defines where the soil changes from a semi-solid to a plastic (flexible) state. The liquid limit is the moisture content that defines where the soil changes from a plastic to a viscous fluid state. The shrinkage limit is the moisture content that defines where the soil volume will not reduce further if the moisture content is reduced. Thus these tests are used widely in the preliminary stages of building any structure to insure that the soil will have the correct amount of shear strength and not too much change in volume as it expands and shrinks with different moisture contents.

Introduction

The Proctor compaction test is a laboratory method of experimentally determining the optimal moisture content at which a given soil type will become most dense and achieve its maximum dry density. The term Proctor is in honor of R. R. Proctor, in showed that the dry density of a soil for a given compactive effort depends on the amount of water the soil contains during soil compaction. His original test is most commonly referred to as the standard Proctor compaction test; later on, his test was updated to create the modified Proctor compaction test. These laboratory tests generally consist of compacting soil at known moisture content into a cylindrical mould of standard dimensions using a compactive effort of controlled magnitude. The soil is usually compacted into the mould to a certain amount of equal layers, each receiving a number blows from a standard weighted hammer at a specified height. This process is then repeated for various moisture contents and the dry densities are determined for each. The graphical relationship of the dry density to moisture content is then plotted to establish the compaction curve. The maximum dry density is finally obtained from the peak point of the compaction curve and its corresponding moisture content, also known as the optimal moisture content.

Conclusion

The testing described is generally consistent with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards, and are similar to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standards. Currently, the procedures and equipment details for the standard Proctor compaction test is designated by ASTM D698 and AASHTO T99. Also, the modified Proctor compaction test is designated by ASTM D1557 and AASHTO T180. Compaction is the process by which the bulk density of an aggregate of matter is increased by driving out air. For any soil, for a given amount of compactive effort, the density obtained depends on the moisture content. At very high moisture contents, the maximum dry density is achieved when the soil is compacted to nearly saturation, where (almost) all the air is driven out. At low moisture contents, the soil particles interfere with each other; addition of some moisture will allow greater bulk densities, with a peak density where this effect begins to be counteracted by the saturation of the soil. Soils had been the most used material for many civil engineering projects (embankments, foundation pads, road bases) especially as the fill material. Whenever soil is placed as an engineering fill, it is nearly always necessary to compact it to a dense state, so as to obtain satisfactory engineering properties which would not be achieved with loosely placed material. Soil compaction is a process of mechanically pressing together soil particles to increase the density by expelling air from the void spaces of the soil. The compaction of soil is normally performed during construction, often by mechanical means such as rolling, ramming or vibrating. The degree of compaction control is necessary to achieve a satisfactory result at reasonable cost. Hence, the soil compaction testing performed at the laboratory shall provide the basis for control procedures used on site.