CONSISTENCY AND PLASTICITY OF SOILS STATE OF CONSISTENCY The term consistency refers to the relative ease with which a soil mass can be deformed and is used to describe the degree of firmness of fine-grained soils for which consistency relates to a large extent to water content. The four states of consistency suggested by Atterberg are indicated below in Figures 1 and 2. Fluid soil-water mixture Liquid State . Liguid Limit, LL i i Plastic State 8 Plastic Limit, PL e Semisolid State i Shrinkage Limit, SL Solid State Dry Soil The four states of consistencyAtterberg Limits (cont.) Wetting Semi | i [Plastic | [Liquid Volume, v ore Dying __ w% Fig. 2: The four states of consistency in a chart form In the solid state there will be no change in volume of soil mass accompanying change in water content. In the remaining the three states increase in water content is accompanies by increase in volume of soil mass and decrease of water content by reduction in volume of soil mass. In the liquid state the soil mass behaves like a liquid possessing very less sheer strength. In the plastic state the soil mass can be deformed without cracking. In the semi-solid state the soil mass cannot be deformed without cracking. ‘The water contents, which arbitrarily define the boundary between the four states of consistency, are referred to as consistency limits or Atterbag limits ‘The three consistency limits are Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit and Shrinkage Limit. Liquid limit is denoted by Wi, and is the boundary between plastic and liquid states of consistency. It is the minimum water content at which the soil mass stil flows like a liquid, Liquid limit is defined as the water context at which a groove, cut with a standard grooving tool, in soil pat taken in the cup of a standard liquid limit device (Fig. 3) Closes for a distance of 13mm when the cup is imparted 25 blows.Fig. 3: The standard liquid limit device Plastic limit is denoted by Wp and is the boundary between semi-solid and plastic states of consistency. It is the minimum water content at which the soil mass can still be deformed without cracking. Plastic limit is defined as the water context at which the soil mass can be rolled into @ threat of 3mm diameter and the thread first shows signs of cracking. Shrinkage limit is denoted by Ws and is the boundary between solid and semi-solid state of consistency. It is defined as the maximum water content at which there is no reduction in volume of soil mass accompanying reduction in water content.DETERMINATION OF SOIL PROPERTIES BY LABORATORY TESTING DETERMINATION OF LIQUID LIMIT Casagrande Apparatus The apparatus consists of a mechanical device consisting of a cup mounted on an edge pivot. The cup rests on a hard rubber base. A mechanism enables the cup to be lifted by 10mm and dropped on the base. The soil is put in cup and levelled off horizontally. The soil is divided by a standard grooving tool through the pivot of the cup. The two halves of the soil flow together as the cup is repeatedly dropped onto the base. The number of drops at the rate of two revolutions per second required to close the groove over a distance of 13mm is recorded. The test is repeated over four times and the water content is determined each time. The water content is plotted against log of blows. The best straight line fitting the points is drawn. The moisture content at twenty five (25) blow is the Liquid Limit of the soil. Fig. 4 and 5 show Casagrande Equipment. N=25 blows _. Closing distance = 13mm 4: Schematic representation of the Casagrande ApparatusFig. 5: A photograph of the Casagrande Apparatus It is convenient to increase the water content in successive steps and obtain counts near about 40, 30, 20 and 10. The resulting curve drawn as the best fitting straight line is called the “flow curve” (Fig. 6). Fig. 6: low CurveCone Penetrometer Appratus The Penetrometer is fitted with a stainless steel cone having a smooth, polished surface. The cone is approximately 35 mm long and has an angle of 30° + 1°. The mass of the cone together with its sliding shaft is 800. ‘A metal cup, about 55mm in diameter and 40mm deep is used to contain the test sample. Fig. 7 shows the Cone Penetrometer Apparatus Schematic. 7: The Cone Penetrometer Apparatus An air dry soil sample (about 250) passing the 425 micron sieve is mixed with distilled water. The soil paste is filled in the metal cup and the surface struck off level. The cone is lowered to just touch the surface of soil and then released for a period of 5 seconds. The penetration is recorded. The cone is lifted and leaned. The test is repeated over four different moisture contents, The moisture contents used in the tests should be such that the penetrations obtained lie within a range of 15 to 35 mm. To obtain the liquid limit, cone penetration is plotted against moisture content both on normal scales to give the best fitting straight line. The moisture content corresponding to a cone penetration of 20mm is taken as the liquid limit of the soil (Fig. 8), which for all practical purposes is the same as the LL determined by the Casagrande apparatus. ‘The Cone Peretrometer method gives 2 more consistent estimate of the LL than the Casagrande apparatus, with greater repeatability and less operator20mm Penetration of cone (mm) LL Water content w% 8: Gone penetration against moisture content DETERMINATION OF PLASTIC LIMIT The sample of soil is mixed with distilled water until it is sufficiently plastic to be rolled into a ball between palms of hands. A small portion of the ball is then rolled on a smooth plate into a thread of 3mm diameter, and the thread is looked for signs of cracking. If no cracks are seen, the thread is picked up and again rolled into a ball between palms, The water content is reduced by the heat of the fingers. The ball is then rolled on smooth plate into a threat of 3mm diameter. The steps are repeated until a 3mm diameter threat first shows signs of cracking. A portion of the threat is taken for water content determination which gives the plastic limit. Fig. 9: Rolling on a smooth plate1 Sonate ne 9 Fig. 10: Raling on between palms of hands 2a Fig. 11: Si] thread 3mm diameter just crumbles DETERMINATION OF SHRINKAGE LIMIT It is defined as the maximum water content at which there is no reduction in volume of soil mass accompanying reduction in water content. A saturated sample of soll is placed in a container of known volume Vi. The weight of the soil is determined in stage (a) of the experiment. The soil is initially dried in the air and then in an oven to ensure that no cracks are formed, Further drying of the soil at some water content (b) will not result in the reduction of the volume of the soil. ‘At stage (c) of the drying process the soil is completely dry but the volume in the stage is the same as at stage (b). The weight of the soil is measured at stage (c) and its volume is measured by immersing the dry soil in mercury.TS — -_—— (Var Ma) Air | lo M, m, Va lm, va M, () Soil at (6) Dry Soll Fig. 12: Srinkage Limit Phase Diagram Mass of Water in (b) Shrinkage Limit = “\455 of Soil Solids (2) Fully saturated sample of soil of volume Vi and (b) mass M; which on reducing water content attains volume V2 and Mass Mz. If it is assumed that any further reduction in water does not cause a decrease in the total volume of the sample, the water content is the shrinkage limit. Mass of water in (a) = (Mi Ma) Loss in water from (a) to (b) = (Vir¥V2)¥w (4,-M, Mass of water (b) = Vimvelre Ms ATTERBERG INDICES 1. Plasticity Index Is defined as Liquid Limit minus Plastic Limit PL=LL-PL2. Flow Index, J Is the slope of flow curve obtained by plotting water content as ordinate or natural scale against number of blows as abscissa on logarithmic scale (Fig. 13). Fig. 13: Flow curve for determination of Liquid Limit Where; ‘w; = water content corresponding to number of blows Ni, and ‘Ww, = water content corresponding to number of blows No. 3. Toughness Index Defined as the ratio of Plasticity Index to Flow Index. 4. Consistency Index Defined as the ratio of Liquid Limit Index. LL-w Te= aA jinus natural Water Content to the Plasticity5. Liquidity Index Defined as the ratio of natural Water Content minus Plastic Limit to Plasticity Index. USE OF CONSISTENCY LIMITS ‘The consistency limits and related indices are very useful for soil identification and dlassification. The limits are often in specification for soll compaction and in semi= empirical methods of design. The liquid limit and plastic limit depend on both the type and amount of clay. Plasticity Index Plasticity 0 Non-Plastic <2 Low Plastic 7-17 Medium Plastic >17, Highly Plastic ‘The following table shows some typical values of Atterberg Limits jt Values for the Clay Minerals. Table 10.1 Atterberg Li Liguid Plastic Shrinkage Limit Limit Limit Mineral* (%) (%) Montmorillonite 100 900 50 100 8s Nontronite 37-72 19-27 lite 60-120 35-60 Kaolinite 30-110 25-40 Hydrated Halloysite 50-70 47-60 Dehydrated Halloysite 30-45 Attapulgite tov-250 lv 12 Chlorite 44-47 36-40 130.140 Allophane (undrie 200.