CHAP.0.

INTRODUCTION

Soils intended to support structures, pavements, or

other loads must be evaluated by geotechnical
engineers to predict their behavior under applied forces
and variable moisture conditions. Atterberg limits tests
establish the moisture contents at which fine-grained
clay and silt soils transition between solid, semi-solid,
plastic, and liquid states.
Chap.1prepare the work

In atterberg limit test it is necessary to know the types

of standard to be used which guide correct easy way to
achieve the result with high accuracy.here is the
common standard used in soil laboratory test ASTM,BS.

Where ASTM:American society for testing materials

BS:British standard

1.2: identify materials,tools and equipment

Material used in liquid limit test are the following: 1.

Soil :this soil is corrected from site according to
the standard method.

Water: water to be used in atterberg limit test

must be pure (distilled water)

Tools and equipment used in atterberg limit test are

the following:
Cassagrande apparatus

Digital Lab Scale or Balance

Drying Laboratory Oven

Washing Pan

Spatulas

Porcelain dish

Spatula

Evaporating Dishes

Microcrystalline Wax

Sieve no.40

Casagrande
Grooving tools

Safety gloves
Laboratory overall

Safety boot

Air blower

Moisture can

Function of equipment used in atterberg limit test

Evaporating Dish: is used to mix specimens to the
desired moisture content

Spatula: is used for mixing, forming, and smoothing soil

specimen

Wash Bottle: to dispense mixing water

Aluminum Container: is used for soil moisture samples

Mortar and Pestle: used for particle size reduction

Washing Pan: used for convenient clean-up of bowls

and spatulas.

Soil Grinder:used optional for efficient particle size

reduction

Digital Lab Scale or Balance with 0.01g: used for

readability

1.3Preparing the work place

When conducting atterberg limit test you must make

sure that every resources required is in it position and
checking balance accuracy and all tools and equipment
of laboratory must be present as indicated above.
Chap 2. peform liquid limit test

In this process it is required to prepare sample,control

water in the sample place and shake the sample and
determine moisture content

2.1.Preparation of sample

Procedure of sample preparation are the following:

sample drying, sample sizing, sample maturing

Drying methods are the following: air drying, oven

drying.
2.2control water in the sample

The water to be used in atterberg limit test must have

the following character:

It must be free from impurities with ph=7

Determination of optimum moisture content.

Sample weght with drying materials

Proportion of water optimum density of the sample

2.3: weight of wet sample and cut groove in sample

Weighing equipment are the following:sample

container

Electronic balance

Cutting tool are the following :grooving tool and knife

2.4:shake the cassagrande cap sry and weight the

sample
Method of shaking are the following :manually shaking
and mechanically shaking

Driying methods are the following :air drying and oven

drying

Chap3: plastic limit

3.1:sample the soil

Types of sample tobe used in plastic limit

Undisturbed sample, remolded sample,disturbed

sample,

Method of selecting sample

 Random
 Systematic

3.2: Add optimum water and roll the sample

Characteristics of Water used in soil testing the water

must be Free from impurities with PH =7 Rolling
procedures Mould the ball of the soil between the
fingers Roll the ball of the soil between the hands
3.3: Dry and weight the sample

Weighting equipment Sample container Electronic

balance Drying methods Air drying Oven drying

It is recommended to use Oven drying method because

it is quick and safe.

Classification of soil in atterberg limit test

Soils with a particle size of 2µm (0.002mm) or less is

clays.

It means soil passes through the sieve of 2µm

(0.002mm)
Function of atterberg limit test

Atterberg limit test is used to determine the following:

the liquid limit, plastic limit ,shrinkage limit.

Effect of increasing water in soil sample

As moisture contents are variable (increasing or

decreasing), clay and silt soils go through four distinct
states of consistency: such as

• solid

• semi-solid

• plastic

• liquid
Atterberg limit tests accurately define the boundaries
between these states using moisture contents at the
points where the physical changes occur.
The test values and derived indexes have direct
applications in the foundation design of structures and
in predicting the behavior of soils infills, embankments,
and pavements. The values assess shear strength,
estimate permeability, forecast settlement, and identify
potentially expansive soils

Notes: The plastic limit, liquid limit, and shrinkage limit

of soils are all test results obtained by direct
measurements of the water content following the
standard test methods
DEFINITION OF THE TEST RESULT

Liquid Limit (LL): is the water content at which soil

changes from a plastic to a liquid state, when the soil
specimen is just fluid enough for a groove to close when
jarred in a specified manner.

NOTE: IF you continue to increase water in sample soil

reach to the point of being liquid, here water become
more than necessary

Plastic Limit (PL) is the water content at which soil

change from a plastic to a semi-solid state (near to be
solid).

Note: when water in sample is being reduced it will lead

to solid. water is less than necessary

Shrinkage Limit (SL):is the water content where the

further loss of moisture does not cause a decrease in
specimen volume.
Note: decrease in water content do not change volume
of sample

Plasticity Index (PI): is the plastic limit subtracted from

the liquid limit.

PI= PL- LL

Function Plasticity index (PI)

Plasticity index indicates the size of the range between

the two boundaries (LL, PL).

Note: Soils with a high PI have a higher clay content.

 If the PI value is higher than the low to mid-20s, the soil
may be expansive under wet conditions or exhibit
shrinkage in dry conditions.
Effect of clay content on road pavement

 Expansion during rainy season

 Shrinkage during dry condition

Liquidity Index (LI): is determined by subtracting

the plastic limit from the natural water content of
the sample, then dividing by the plasticity index.

Note: Soils with a LI of 1 or more will be closer to

the liquid state
A (LI) of 0 or lower indicates soils that are harder
and more brittle.

Function of liquid index(LI)

LI allows prediction of soil properties at different

moistures.

Procedure for conducting atterberg limit

Sample drying

Sample sizing
having soil samples consist of material passing a No.
40 (425µm) test sieve
Add water in Test specimen mix with a spatula, and
allowing to condition for at least 16 hours
 Liquid Limit is measured by spreading a portion of
the soil sample in the brass cup of a liquid limit
machine and dividing I t using a grooving tool.
Note: The moisture content when the groove
closes for 1/2in after 25 drops of the cup is
defined as the Liquid Limit.

Plastic Limit is determined by repeatedly remolding a

small ball of moist plastic soil and manually rolling it out
into a 1/8in thread.

The Plastic Limit is the moisture content at which the

thread crumbles before being completely rolled out.

Chap4: Make report

4.1: Fill working sheet

The sheet must have the the following element

Title ,Project
number,Date,Location,Client,Companyname,Operator,A
pprover,Checker,Container number, Mass of wet soil
+container,Mass of wet soil+container,Mass of the wet
soil,Mass of dry soil,Moisture content expressed in
percentage,Liquid limit

Identify atterberg limit test report elements

Types of atterberg limits test element

Reference to the procedure

Date time and place of sampling and sample

identification
Types of material and sample

Test result(the liquid limit and plastic limit of the soil

sample

Types of decisions of atterberg limit test

Rejected materials

Acceptable materials

Conclusion on atterberg limit test

The atterberg limit test is laboratory test which have

the main purpose of determining
Liquid limit and plastic limit

When you are going to perform atterberg limit for the

road material (marrum) ratelite,here is the task to be
imvolved.
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT FOR ATTERBERG LIMIT