City of Antipolo Institute of Technology

Bachelor of Construction Engineering Technology and Management

CE5: GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

Laboratory Report 04.

Experiment 04:Determination of Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit

Name: Labbao, Macy Arizza C. Date of Conduction: 03/17/2023

Student Number: 2019-265 Date of Submission: 03/31/2023
Year and Section: 2-O Instructor: Engr. Albert Sabado

I. INTRODUCTION
The Atterberg limit refers to the liquid limit and plastic limit of soil.
These two limits are used internationally for soil identification,
Classification, and strength correlations. When clay minerals are present in
fine-grained soil, the soil can be. Remolded in the presence of some
moisture without crumbling. This cohesiveness is caused by the adsorbed
water surrounding The clay particles. At a very low moisture content, soil
behaves More like a solid; at a very high moisture content, the soil and
Water may flow like a liquid. Hence on an arbitrary basis, depending on
the moisture content, The behavior of soil can be divided into the four
basic states: solid, Semisolid, plastic, and liquid.

The percent of moisture content at which the transition From solid to

semi-solid state takes place is defined as the Shrinkage limit (SL). • The
moisture content at the point of transition from semiSolid to plastic state is
the plastic limit (PL), and from Plastic to liquid state is the liquid limit (LL). •
These parameters are also known as Atterberg limits. The Liquid and
plastic limits of a soil and its water content can Be used to express its
relative consistency or liquidity Index. • The plasticity index and the
percentage finer than 2- μm Particle size can be used to determine its
activity number.
 II. OBJECTIVES
➢ To determine the liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL), and the
plasticity index (PI) of fine-grained cohesive soils

III. INSTRUMENTS AND ACCESSORIES

➢ Balance
➢ Casagrande’s liquid limit device
➢ Grooving tool
➢ Mixing dishes
➢ Spatula
➢ Oven
➢ Plastic limit rolling device set

IV. PROCEDURES PLASTIC LIMIT

Determine the mass of each of the three moisture cans (W1). Calibrate
the drop of the cup, using the end of the grooving Tool not meant for
cutting, so that there is consistency in the Height of the drop. Put about
250 g of air-dried soil through a # 40 sieve into an evaporating dish and
with a plastic squeeze bottle, add enough water to form a uniform paste.
Place the soil in the Casagrande’s cup and use a spatula to smooth the
surface so that the maximum depth is about 8mm.Using the grooving tool,
cut a groove at the center line of the soil cup. Crank the device at a rate of
2 revolutions per second until there is a clear visible closure of ½” or 12.7
mm in the soil pat placed in the cup. Count the number of blows (N) that
caused the closure. (Make the paste so that N begins with a value higher
than 35.) If N= 15 to 40, collect the sample from the closed part of the cup
using a spatula and determine the water content weighing the can + moist
soil (W2). If the soil is too dry, N will be higher and will reduce as water is
added. Perform a minimum of three trials with values of N-15 to 40,
cleaning the cap after each trial. Determine the corresponding w% after 24
hours (W3) and plot the N vs w%, which is called the “flow curve”.
 PROCEDURES LIQUID LIMIT

Mix approximately 20 g of dry soil with water from the plastic squeeze
bottle. Determine the weight of the empty moisture can, (W1). Prepare several
small, ellipsoidal-shaped masses of soil and place them in the plastic limit
device. Place two fresh sheets of filter paper on either face of the plates. Roll
the upper half of the device which has a calibrated opening of 3.18 mm with
the lower half plate. If the soil crumbles forming a thread approximately the
size of the opening between the plates (around 3 mm diameter), collect the
crumbled sample, and weigh it in the moisture can (W2) to determine the
water content. Otherwise, repeat the test with the same soil, but dry it by
rolling it between your palms. Determine the weight of the dry soil + moisture
can, (W3). The water content obtained is the plastic limit.

PROCEDURES SHRINKAGE LIMIT

A reduction in the amount of moisture past the plastic limit does not
decrease the volume of the soil. The sample changes from semi-solid to solid
state at the shrinkage limit (boundary water content). Beyond this point the
sample begins to dry up. The figure below depicts the phenomena of volume
change. Plot point A, using the values of LL and PI determined experimentally,
and extend it to meet O. The intercept of the line AO on the X- axis gives the
shrinkage limit.

V. DATA and RESULTS

COMPUTATIONS

LIQUID LIMIT PLASTIC LIMIT

FOR TRIAL 1: FOR TRIAL 1:
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 = 𝟏𝟒. 𝟏 𝒈𝒎 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 = 𝟏𝟓. 𝟏 𝒈𝒎
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 + 𝑤𝑒𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 (𝑊2) 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 + 𝑤𝑒𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 (𝑊2)
= 𝟏𝟕. 𝟕 𝒈𝒎 = 𝟏𝟓. 𝟕 𝒈𝒎
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 + 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 (𝑊3) 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 + 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 (𝑊3)
= 𝟏𝟔. 𝟕𝟖 𝒈𝒎 = 𝟏𝟓. 𝟓𝟐 𝒈𝒎
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 (𝑊𝑤) = 𝑊2 − 𝑊3 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 (𝑊𝑤) = 𝑊2 − 𝑊3
= 17.7 − 16.78 = 𝟎. 𝟗𝟐𝒈𝒎 = 15.7 − 15.52 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟖𝒈𝒎
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 (𝑊𝑠) = 𝑊3 − 𝑊1 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 (𝑊𝑠) = 𝑊3 − 𝑊1
= 16.78 − 14.1 = 15.52 − 15.1
= 𝟐. 𝟔𝟖 𝒈𝒎 = 𝟎. 𝟒𝟐 𝒈𝒎
𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑤) = 𝑊𝑤/𝑊𝑠 𝑥 100 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑤) = 𝑊𝑤/𝑊𝑠 𝑥 100
= 0.92/2.68 𝑥100 = 0.18/0.42 𝑥100
= 𝟑𝟒. 𝟑𝟐𝟖𝟒% = 𝟒𝟐. 𝟖𝟓𝟕𝟏%
𝑷𝑳𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑰𝑻𝒀 𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑿: 𝑃𝐼
= 44.52% − 40.9236%
= 𝟑. 𝟓𝟗𝟔%
VI. ANALYSIS and DISCUSSION

Soils can be categorized using a categorization system, the Atterberg

limits (liquid limit, plastic limit, and plasticity index), or according to their
consistency. Both the liquid limit test and the plastic limit test required that
each soil sample be over dried for at least 24 hours. Prior to and following the
oven drying process, the masses of the samples were measured. This was
done in order to calculate the masses and water content of the soil sample.
This data was then shown in a graph for the liquid limit test that was created
by comparing the number of blows to the water content. The liquid limit is then
computed by taking the average of the moisture contents of each experiment.
The computed liquid limit for the soil sample is roughly 44.52%.For
determining the plastic limit, Soil sample is kneaded, done manually To To
ascertain its plastic behavior, create a rod with a three millimeter approximate
diameter. The plastic limit was calculated using the average of the three trials
in Table 2, which yielded a plastic limit value of 30.6929%. If the plastic limit is
equal to or higher than the liquid limit, according to ASTM standards, the soil
is not plastic. Since the soil in this experiment appears to be plastic by
40.52%, the plastic limit value was computed. The test sample is categorized
as clayey soil because it also has a plasticity index of 3.5961%, which
indicates that it has a slightly plastic composition. The consistency of silt and
clay soil is governed by the amount of water they contain. The liquid limit and
plasticity indices of the sample soil are 44.52% and 3.5961%, respectively.
Considering that the liquid limit (LL) is 44.52% and the PI value is 40.9239%

VII. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Most qualities ought to be identified to be associated to other
engineering behaviour. We look at the soils' maximal extensibility in both liquid
and plastic. Several material consistency states are distinguished using
moisture contents. The results of these tests produce comparable statistics for
soil identification, classification, and strength conversions. The experiment's
data, which were collected and presented to determine the liquid and plastic
limits, show that the test soil demonstrates plasticity. The moisture contents of
the liquid limit tests for trials 1, 2, and 3 were 42.8571%, 38.8889%, and
41.0256%, respectively. This makes sense given that fewer blows were
necessary as moisture levels increased and that a higher moisture content
was necessary for the separated soil to close. The elevated moisture level
indicates that the soil's properties were shifting toward fluidity. In this
experiment, the liquid limit was 42.52%. The liquid limit was calculated using a
linear computation, often known as the flow index, from the graph of the
moisture content vs. number of blows. The liquid limit is defined as the
moisture content at which the groove, made by a standard tool into the sample
of soil, closes over a span of 1 cm after receiving appropriate number of
blows. The plastic limit's moisture content was 42.8571%, and the plasticity
index was 3.5961%. This is reasonable given that the plastic limit should have
the lowest moisture content because this is the point at which soil starts to
behave like a plastic material. Human error is a potential source of error for
the liquid limit test. This is primarily attributable to the device's manual crank
rotation, where the target speed was 2 revolutions per second. The visual
assessment of the groove closure in the soil sample is another point of
disagreement. The number of blows required for the groove in the soil to close
also reduces with increasing soil layer thickness in the cup. With hand
applications and bandspreading, a uniform depth is difficult to obtain.

In addition to the numerous human errors that could result in a

difference in the data, the results of a thicker soil sample would indicate its
moisture content to be larger than it actually is. Because of potential causes of
inaccuracies, such as inaccurate data due to wrong readings, moisture loss
due to room temperature, improper turning of the liquid limit device, as well as
the incorrect diameter roll, the supplied data and findings may not be as
accurate. To ensure fewer errors, it is advised to carry out experiments with
complete awareness when handling and reviewing data.

APPENDICES