Abstract:
Depending on water content, four physical states of soil consistency are used. The water contents at
which soil undergoes physical state change are called Atterberg limits. Liquid as well as plastic limit are two
commonly used Atterberg limits and are used extensively, either individually or together, with other soil
properties to correlate with engineering behavior such as compressibility, compactibility, shrink-swell and shear
strength. Conventional method of liquid limit determination requires test to be conducted at 5 (at least) different
water contents for accurate estimation. Even liquid limit estimation using cone penetrometer requires
experiment to be carried out at more than one water content. Same is applicable for plastic limit estimation.
Sand content has effect on its liquid and plastic limit, as well as pulse velocity through it. Consequently, it
should be possible to estimate liquid and plastic limit by knowing pulse velocity through it. Pulse velocity using
through transmission technique (at constant water content and density); as well as their liquid and plastic limits
using conventional techniques at varying sand content were determined and plotted for Pilani soil. This plot can
be used as calibration curve for aforementioned estimation purposes and can be developed for other region soils
as well.
