Experiment #5

Standard Test Methods for Liquid Limit,

Plastic Limit, and Plasticity Index for Soils
[ASTM D 4318]



I. Apparatus and Supplies
1) Drying Oven, thermostatically-controlled and capable of maintaining a uniform of
temperature throughout the drying chamber
2) Electronic or Digital Balance, with readability or accuracy of 0.01 g
3) Container handling apparatus: gloves, tongs, or suitable holder for moving and
handling hot containers after drying
4) Miscellaneous: moisture cans, flexible/rubber bowl, spatula, grooving tool, ground
glass plate, lubricant/grease
5) Casagrande Apparatus (with counter)
6) Source of water: squeeze bottle, sprinkler bottle
7) Soil: Kaolin Clay
II. Procedure
Liquid Limit Test
1) Fill the flexible/rubber bowl with kaolin clay almost full.
2) Sprinkle water carefully the soil while stirring it until semisolid solid state with slight
glossy effect and easy to be spread.
3) Add more kaolin clay if needed just to ensure that the bowl is filled with soil mixture.
4) Carefully transfer the soil mixture to the brass cup of Casagrande Apparatus. Make sure
to avoid creating voids. Fill the cup to the rivets location. There must be no gap between
the mixture and spatula once the spatula is laid above the cup.
5) Apply grease or lubricant to the grooving tool and the screw.
6) Using the grooving tool, divide the soil mixture initializing from the middle of the two
rivets. Make sure that none of the mixture will be spilled.
7) Attached the cup the Casagrande Apparatus with the greased screw.


8) Rotate the handle till the gap in the middle of clay closed
9) Record the number of drops as shown in the counter when the gap in clay closed.
10) Determine and record the mass of the clean, dry and empty container together with its lid.
Make sure to have it labelled.
11) Get a sample specimen in the middle of the cup, most likely an estimation of 2-3 grams
and 6grams at most. Put it in the labelled container provided for a certain sample. Then,
cover it with its lid immediately.
12) Determine and record the mass of the container and moist material with its lid.
13) Remove the lid and place the container with moist material in the drying oven. Maintain
the drying oven at 1005C. The time required to be used is a minimum of 24 hours to
obtain constant mass.
14) Return the remaining soil mixture to the flexible/rubber bowl. Add more water until it has
a consistency similar to a cream cheese.
15) Repeat the procedure (4) to (13) again with this new mixture from (14).
16) Return the remaining soil mixture again to the flexible/rubber bowl. Add more water until
it has a consistency similar to a soft butter.
17) Repeat the procedure (4) to (13) again with this new mixture from (16).
Plastic Limit Test
18) Using the set aside soil mixture, roll the soil mass by hand method.
19) Roll the mass between the palm or fingers and the ground-glass plate with just sufficient
pressure to roll the mass into a thread of uniform diameter throughout its length.
20) The thread shall be further deformed on each stroke so that its diameter reaches 3.2 mm
(18in.).
21) Place sample specimen in the labelled container provided for a certain sample. Then,
cover it with its lid immediately.
22) Determine and record the mass of the container and moist material with its lid.
23) Remove the lid and place the container with moist material in the drying oven. Maintain
the drying oven at 1005C. The time required to be used is a minimum of 24 hours to
obtain constant mass.
24) Repeat the same procedure for the second trial for plastic limit test
Plasticity Index


25) After the material has dried, remove the container from the oven and cover it with its
matching lid right away. Allow the material and the container to cool to room
temperature or until the container can be handled comfortably with bare hands and the
operation of the balance will not be affected by convection currents or its being heated.
26) Determine the mass of the container and oven-dried material using the same balance as
used. Record this value.
27) For the gathered data of Liquid Limit test, plot the moisture content vs. the number of
count. Then, get the value for moisture content with 25 numbers of drops using the best
fitted line equation. Apply it the formula given in the Introduction to get the Liquid
Limit.
28) For the gathered data of Plastic Limit, get the average moisture content.
29) For the Plasticity Index, get the difference between the Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit.