PLASTIC LIMIT, LIQUID LIMIT AND UNDRAINED SHEAR STRENGTH OF SOIL--REAPPRAISAL

The concept that plasticity index of soils can be defined as a range of water contents producing a 100-fold variation in undrained shear strength has been experimentally verified with the aid of a large number of tests on soils of diverse nature. This has led to a redefinition of the plastic limit as the water content at which undrained shear strength is around 170 kN/m-sq. Undrained shear strength of a soil at the liquid limit can be considered to be around 1.7 kN/m-sq. Accordingly, both the liquid and the plastic limits have been determined in the present work by a single consistent method (Swedish fall cone method). The undrained shear strength-water content relationship has been found to be log-linear for a wide range of water contents beginning from lower than the plastic limit to higher than the liquid limit. This resulted in the formulation of an expression for predicting undrained shear strength of a remolded soil at any water content based solely on its liquid and plastic limits.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/3519342
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  1801 Alexander Bell Drive
  Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400
• Authors:
  • Sharma, B
  • Bora, P K
• Publication Date: 2003-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 774-777
• Serial:
  • Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
  • Volume: 129
  • Issue Number: 8
  • Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
  • ISSN: 1090-0241
  • Serial URL: http://ojps.aip.org/gto

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Foundation soils; Geotechnical engineering; Liquid limits; Plastic limit; Remolded clay soils; Soil mechanics; Soil science; Soil tests; Soils by properties; Undrained shear strength
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; I42: Soil Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00961677
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 12 2003 12:00AM