What do Atterberg Limits tell us?

The limits relate the determined moisture contents to empirically defined boundaries between states of consistency (liquid, plastic and solid) (Baver et al., 1972). The aim of the Atterberg limit tests is to obtain empirical information on the reaction of regolith to water.

Atterberg Limits are the water contents which define transitions between the solid, plastic, and liquid states of a given soil material. The tests are restricted to cohesive soils with appreciable silt or clay fraction, and cannot be conducted readily on either sands or silts with a high sand fraction.

2.1 The plastic limit of a soil is the moisture content, expressed as a percentage of the weight of the oven-dry soil, at the boundary between the plastic and semisolid states of consistency. It is the moisture content at which a soil will just begin to crumble when rolled into a thread ⅛ in.

Defining Soil Types with Atterberg Limits Atterberg Limits are most commonly used to define a fine-grained soil as being either silt or clay, of either high or low plasticity. The most wellknown definition used is the Plasticity Chart as shown in Figure 2.

The term soil consistency is used to describe the resistance of a soil at various moisture contents to mechanical stresses or manipulations. … Consistency has importance for the practical use of soils such as soil tillage and compaction by farm machinery.

Explanation: In 1911, Atterberg who was a Swedish Agriculturist divided the entire range of liquid to solid state in to four stages. 6. Which of the following is not useful for engineer purpose, as proposed by Atterberg? Explanation: Liquid limit, plastic limit, shrinkage limit are useful for engineering purpose.

The Atterberg Limits of soils are determined with a series of laboratory tests that classify the properties of silt and clay soils at different moisture contents. Geotechnical engineers use Atterberg limits to design foundations for structures and predict the behavior of soils for fills, embankments, and pavements.

Karl von Terzaghi (October 2, 1883 – October 25, 1963) was an Austrian mechanical engineer, geotechnical engineer, and geologist known as the “father of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering”.

It shows the size of the range of the moisture contents at which the soil remains plastic. In general, the plasticity index depends only on the amount of clay present. It indicates the fineness of the soil and its capacity to change shape without altering its volume.

Importance of Plastic Limit Test of Soil The value of the plastic limit is used to classify the fine-grained soils and evaluating the activities of clayey soil. 2. It indicates the toughness index of soil. … It gives an idea regarding the consistency of soil.

The plastic limit (PL) is the water content, in percent, at which a soil can no longer be deformed by rolling into 3.2 mm (1/8 in.) … Those limit of soil are very important property of fine grained soil and its Value is used to classify fine grained soil and calculate activity of clays and toughness index of soil.

Liquid limit is the water content where the soil starts to behave as a liquid. Liquid limit is measured by placing a clay sample in a standard cup and making a separation (groove) using a spatula. The cup is dropped till the separation vanishes. The water content of the soil is obtained from this sample.

The United States Department of Agriculture defines twelve major soil texture classifications ( sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, loam, silt loam, silt, sandy clay loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, sandy clay, silty clay, and clay). Soil textures are classified by the fractions of sand, silt, and clay in a soil.

The texture of a soil is important because it determines soil characteristics that affect plant growth. … Water-holding capacity is the ability of a soil to retain water. Most plants require a steady supply of water, and it is obtained from the soil. While plants need water, they also need air in the root zone.

The shrinkage limit (SL) is defined as the water content at which the soil changes from a semi-solid to a solid state. At this moisture content the volume of the soil mass ceases to change with further drying of the material. The shrinkage limit is less frequently used than the liquid and plastic limits.

Soil color is produced by the minerals present and by the organic matter content. Yellow or red soil indicates the presence of oxidized ferric iron oxides. Dark brown or black color in soil indicates that the soil has a high organic matter content. … Organic matter tends to make the soil color darker.

The Atterberg limits can be used to distinguish between silt and clay, and to distinguish between different types of silts and clays. The water content at which the soils change from one state to the other are known as consistency limits or Atterberg’s limit.

Clarification: In 1911, Atterberg who was a Swedish Agriculturist divided the entire range of liquid to solid state in to four stages. 6. Which of the following is not useful for engineer purpose, as proposed by Atterberg? Clarification: Liquid limit, plastic limit, shrinkage limit are useful for engineering purpose.

8. Which of the following stresses does not have any influence on strength of a material? Explanation: When a material is subjected to three dimensional stresses, the intermediate principal stress does not have any influence on the strength of material.

Geotechnical engineering is important because it helps prevent complications before they happen. Without the advanced calculations and testing provided by a geotech, buildings could see significant damage after an earthquake, slope stability shifting, ongoing settlement, or other effects.

1 To impart knowledge on the various factors governing the Engineering behaviour of soils and the suitability of soils for various Geotechnical Engineering applications. 2 To characterize stress-strain behaviour of soils, the failure criteria and to evaluate the shear strength and compressibility parameters of soils.

These products have a wide range of applications and are currently used in many civil and geotechnical engineering applications including roads, airfields, railroads, embankments, piled embankments, retaining structures, reservoirs, canals, dams, landfills, bank protection and coastal engineering.

In general, limit test is defined as quantitative or semi quantitative test designed to identify and control small quantities of impurity which is likely to be present in the substance. Limit test is generally carried out to determine the inorganic impurities present in compound.

This limit is needed for studying the swelling and shrinkage properties of cohesive soil. The shrinkage factor helps in the design problems of structure made up of this soil or resting on such soil. It helps in assessing the suitability of soil as a construction material in foundations, roads, embankments, and dams.

Silts feel smooth – a little like flour. Most clays are sticky and mouldable. If you’ve ever used pottery clay, you’ll know the feeling. Soils are made up of different combinations of sand, silt and clay particles.

If the percentages of clay, silt, and sand in a soil are known (primarily through laboratory analysis), you may use the textural triangle to determine the texture class of your soil. Figure 15. Textural Triangle. The textural triangle describes the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay in various types of soils.

Texture indicates the relative content of particles of various sizes, such as sand, silt and clay in the soil. Texture influences the ease with which soil can be worked, the amount of water and air it holds, and the rate at which water can enter and move through soil.