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Plasticity and Structure of Soil-Ch.4

Chapter 4 of the document discusses the plasticity and structure of soil, focusing on the behavior of fine-grained soils influenced by moisture content. It introduces key concepts such as Atterberg limits, which include the liquid limit, plastic limit, and shrinkage limit, along with methods for measuring these parameters. Additionally, it covers the plasticity index and activity of soil, providing insights into the classification and characteristics of cohesive soils.

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Bashar
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35 views16 pages

Plasticity and Structure of Soil-Ch.4

Chapter 4 of the document discusses the plasticity and structure of soil, focusing on the behavior of fine-grained soils influenced by moisture content. It introduces key concepts such as Atterberg limits, which include the liquid limit, plastic limit, and shrinkage limit, along with methods for measuring these parameters. Additionally, it covers the plasticity index and activity of soil, providing insights into the classification and characteristics of cohesive soils.

Uploaded by

Bashar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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0941231

Geotechnical Engineering

Chapter 4
Plasticity and Structure of Soil
As discussed in Principles of Geotechnical Engineering by Das and Sobhan
(2014)

Bashar Tarawneh, Ph.D, P.E


Introduction
Plasticity: is the ability of a soil to undergo unrecoverable
deformation at constant volume without cracking or crumbling. It
is due to the presence of clay minerals or organic material.

When clay minerals are present in fine-grained soil, the soil


can be remolded in the presence of some moisture without
crumbling. This cohesive nature is caused by the adsorbed
water surrounding the clay particles.

Consistency limits (Atterberg limits): Atterberg, a Swedish


scientist who developed a method to describe the consistency
of fine-grained soils with varying moisture contents.

At a very low moisture content, soil behaves more like a solid.
When the moisture content is very high, the soil and water may
flow like a liquid.
2
Introduction..cont.
 Soil behavior can be divided into four basic states: solid, semisolid,
plastic, and liquid. A presentation of these states with moisture is shown
below.

3
Introduction..cont.
The moisture content, in percent, at which the transition from solid to
semisolid state takes place is defined as the shrinkage limit (S.L).
The moisture content at the point of transition from semisolid to
plastic state is the plastic limit (P.L), and from plastic to liquid state is
the liquid limit (L.L).
These parameters ( S.L, P.L, L.L) are also known as Atterberg limits.

Plasticity Index (P.I.): the range of moisture content at which soil


exhibits plastic behavior.

PI is important in classifying fine-grained soils. 4


4.2 Liquid Limit (L.L)
The liquid limit is measured using the liquid limit device.
A soil sample is placed in the brass cup.
A groove is then cut in soil sample using a tool.
The brass cup is then dropped until the groove closes.
The liquid limit is defined as moisture content which requires 25
blows to close a groove of 12.5 mm, when the brass cup is
dropped from a height of 10 mm.

5
4.2 Liquid Limit (L.L)

The slope of the line is defined as the


flow index and may be written as:

6
4.2 Liquid Limit (L.L)
The fall cone method (British Standard—
BS1377).
The liquid limit is defined as the M/C at
which a standard will penetrate a distance
(d) of 20 mm in 5 seconds when allowed
to drop from a position of point contact
with the soil surface.
Due to the difficulty in achieving the
liquid limit from a single test, four or more
tests can be conducted at various moisture
contents to determine the fall cone
penetration, d.

7
4.3 Plastic Limit (P.L)
The plastic limit is the moisture content in percent, at which
the soil crumbles, when rolled into threads of 3.2 mm (1/8 in.)
in diameter.
The plastic limit is the lower limit of the plastic stage of soil.
 The plastic limit test is simple and is performed by repeated
rolling of an ellipsoidal-sized soil mass by hand on a ground
glass plate.
The procedure for the plastic limit test is given by ASTM in
Test Designation D-4318.

8
4.3 Plastic Limit (P.L)
The fall cone method can be used to obtain the plastic limit.
 This can be achieved by using a cone of similar geometry but with a
mass of 2.35 N (240 g).
Three to four tests at varying moisture contents of soil are conducted,
and the corresponding cone penetrations (d) are determined.
The moisture content corresponding to a cone penetration of d 20 mm
is the plastic limit.

9
4.4 Shrinkage Limit (S.L)
 Soil shrinks gradually as it loses moisture.
 With continuing loss of moisture, a stage of equilibrium is reached
at which more loss of moisture will result in no further volume change.
 The point at which the soil no longer shrinks is defined as the
shrinkage limit (S.L).
Shrinkage limit tests (ASTM Test Designation D-427) are performed
in the laboratory.

10
4.4 Shrinkage Limit (S.L)
Using a porcelain dish of 44 mm (1.75 in.) in diameter and about 12.7 mm (
½ in) high. The inside of the dish is coated with petroleum jelly and is then
filled completely with wet soil.
 The mass of the wet soil inside the dish is recorded. The soil in the dish is
then oven-dried.
The volume of the oven-dried soil is determined by the displacement of
mercury.
 Because handling mercury may be hazardous, ASTM D-4943 describes a
method of dipping the oven-dried soil in a melted pot of wax. The wax-coated
soil pat is then cooled. Its volume is determined by submerging it in water.

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4.4 Shrinkage Limit (S.L)

See Example 4.1

12
4.5 Liquidity Index and Consistency Index
The relative consistency of a cohesive soil in the natural state can
be defined by a ratio called the liquidity index, which is given by:

The in situ moisture content for a sensitive clay may be greater than
the liquid limit.

 Consistency index (CI), which is defined as:

 The C.I is zero at the Liquid Limit and one at the Plasticity Index.
13
4.6 Activity
Plasticity of soil is caused by the adsorbed water that surrounds
the clay particles.
The type of clay minerals and their proportional amounts in a soil
will affect the liquid and plastic limits.

 Skempton (1953) observed that the plasticity index ( P.I) of a soil


increases linearly with the percentage of clay-size fraction (% finer
than 2 µm by weight) present.

 The correlations of PI with the clay-size fractions for different


clays plot separate lines. This difference is due to the diverse
plasticity characteristics of the various types of clay minerals.

14
4.6 Activity

where A=activity. Activity is used as an index for identifying the


swelling potential of clay soils.

Clay Class Activity


Inactive < 0.75
Normal 0.75-1.25
Active >1.25

15
4.7 Plasticity Chart
 Casagrande (1932) studied the relationship of the plasticity index to the
liquid limit of a wide variety of natural soils.
On the basis of the test results, he proposed a plasticity chart as shown
below:

 An A-line separates the inorganic


clays from the inorganic silts.
Inorganic clay values lie above the
A-line, and values for inorganic silts lie
below the A-line.

16

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