A Re‐Examination of Alternative Test Procedures for Soil Consistency Limit Determination: I. A Compression‐Based Procedure

Abstract

AbstractA static uniaxial (drained) compression test procedure using effectively saturated, remoulded soil samples is proposed which unifies soil consistency limit determination procedurally under similar experimental conditions. It yields numerically comparative (r2 = 0.786–0.931), rather than only correlative, indices of the upper and lower limits of soil plasticity while providing ancillary information on the effective stress regime when in these states of consistency. For the 44 soil horizon samples used in this study, apparent equivalent stresses at the Atterberg consistency limits ranged from 0.26 to 1.84 MPa for the lower plastic limit and 3.9 to 268 kPa for the upper plastic limit. Clay and organic matter contents had a significant influence on defining these equivalent static loadings. Organic matter was further shown to expand the range of moisture contents representative of the semisolid consistency state while constricting the plastic range. Potential areas for improvement in the procedures are discussed.