An Investigation of Soil Void Ratio Effect on Liquid Limit Values Determined by Different Test Methods

Abstract

The liquid limits of different types of silts were determined under varying void ratio conditions by carrying out the cone penetrometer and the Casagrande tests. According to the results obtained from this study, the void ratio was determined to have a notable effect on the liquid limit values of soils. In terms of eliminating the void ratio effect based and operator dependent variations of results, the cone penetrometer test was assessed to be advantageous in comparison with the Casagrande test. The liquid limit values of soils were found to have various relations with the void ratio parameter depending on the soil material. Therefore, a general correlation between the liquid limit and void ratio parameters is not suggested for use. Instead, it is recommended to separately evaluate the liquid limit values for the changes in the void ratio values of different soils.

Keywords: Atterberg limits; Liquid limit; Soil classification; Soil testing; Void ratio.

DOI 10.35180/gse-2020-0039