Standard Method of Test for Determining the Liquid Limit of Soils 1.1 The Liguid Limit ofa soil is that water content, as determined in accor- dance with the following procedure, at which the soil passes from a plastic 10 a liquid state 1.2 The following applies to all spec- ied limits in this standard: For the pur. Poses of determining conformance with these specifications, an observed value or a calculated value shall be rounded ‘off “to the nearest unit” in the last right Ihand place of figures used in expressing. the limiting value, in accordance with the rounding-off of AASHTO R 11, Rec- ‘ommended Practice of Indicating Which Places Of Figutes Are To Be Considered Significant In Specified Limiting Values. 1.3. The values stated in SI units are to be resarded as the standard APPARATUS 2.1 Dish—A porcelain dish, prefer bly unglazed, or similar mixing dish, about 115 mm (4% in.) in diameter. 2.2. Spatula—A spatula ot pill knife having a blade about 75 mm to 100 mm G to 4 in.) in length and about 20 mm hein.) in width 2.3 Liquid Limit Device 23.1 Manually Operaied—A device consisting of a brass dish and carriage, constructed according to the plan and dimensions shown in Figure | 23.2 Mechanically Operated—A ‘motorized device equipped to produce the rise and rate of shocks to a brass cup as described in Sections 4.2 and 5.3 of this procedure, respectively. The cup and the critical dimensions of the device shall conform to those shown in Figure 1 of this procedure. The device shall give the ‘same liquid limit values as obtained with the manually operated device 24 Grooving Tool—A grooving tool AASHTO DESIGNATION: T 89-94 conforming to the critical dimensions shown in Figure 1. The gage need not be part of the tool 25 GageA gage, whether attached to the grooving tool or separate, ‘conforming to the critical dimension “d shown in Figure 1 and may be, if sepa- rate, a metal bar 10.0 + 0.2 mm (0.394 + 0,008 in. thick and approximately 50 mm (2 in.) long. 2.6 Containers—Suitable containers made of material resistant 0 cocrosion cowl and not subject to change in mass or disintegration on repeated heating and cooling. Containers shall have close-fit {ing lids to prevent loss of moisture from samples before initial mass. determina tion and to prevent absorption of mois- ture from the atmosphere following dry- ing and before final mass determination, One container is needed for each moi ture content determination 2.7 Balance—The balance shall con- form to AASHTO M 231, Class C. ‘GROOVIN TOOL GaP ASSEMGLY. conveD eo] ca fensuisnn | 29 [om fra [ie [or [am [aw | ao FIGURE 1 Fe Wey te amy rane {Hee wsng wet Manwal Liquid 10102 2.8 Oven—A thermostatically con. uwolled drying oven capable of main- taining temperatures of 110 = 5°C (230. = 9°F) for drying moisture samples METHOD A SAMPLE, 3.1 A sample with a mass of about 100 g shall be taken from the thoroughly ‘mixed portion of the material passing the 0.425-mm (No. 40) sieve which has been obtained in accordance with AASHTOT 87, Standard Method of Pre- paring Disturbed Soil Samples, or T 146, Standard Method of Wet Preparation of Disturbed Soil Samples for Test; for structural analysis use AASHTO T 146, Method B. 4. ADJUSTMENT OF LIQUID UT DEVICE, 4.1 The Liquid Limit Device shall bbe inspected to determine that the device is in good working order: that the pin connecting the cup is not wom suffi ciently to permit side play; that the screws connecting the cup to the hanger arm are tight; that the points of contact, fon the cup and base are not excessively worn; that the lip ofthe cup is not exces- sively worn; and that a groove has not ‘been wor in the cup through long usage. The grooving tool shall be inspected to setermine that the critical dimensions are as shown in Figure 1 NOTE 1—Wear i considered excesve wen the point of cmc on the cup or Bs exceeds approximately 13 mam (08 wa) ak ‘ameter, when ay point on term of ie cup is worn to appontnaely te orginal Shckness. Although light gooee ithe center ofthe cp i taceable, tnt ejee. Sonable Ifthe groove becomes prone before other sigs of wear appear th cop shouldbe considered exeessvy wom, EX essively wor eps sal be replace Abas hich excessively worn may bere 2 loos 8 the hicks doesnot ected the tolerance shown in Figure 1 by tere than 525mm (Alin) andthe distance tween the cpa the cam follower ad the bee "inti wichin te tolerances spced Figure 1. d a METHODS OF SAMPLING AND TESTING 42 Adjust the height of drop of the cup so that the point on the cup that comes in contact with the base rises to a height of 10.0 + 0.2 mm (0.394 = (0.008 in.). See Figure 2 for proper loca- tion of the gage relative to the cup dur- ing adjustment. NOTE 2—A convenient procedure for ai ‘height of drop is a8 follows: place a piece of masking tape across the outside bottom of the cup parallel with the axis of the cup hanger pivek. The edge of the te Away from the cup hangee should bisect the spot on the cup that contacts the base. For ew cups, placing 2 piece of carbon papee fon the base and allowing the cup to drop several times will mark the contact spot. At lach the cup to the device and turn the rank until the cup is raised to its maximum height. Sie the height gage under the cup from the font, and observe whether the gage contacts {he cup oF the pe. See Figure 2. Ifthe tpe {and cup are both contacted, the height of Arop is approximately correct. f not, adjust the cup until simultaneous contact is made ‘Check adjustment by taming the erank at 2 ‘evolutions per second wil holding the gage in position against the tape and cup. If'a Finging or clicking sound is heard without the cup rising from the gage, the adjustment is comect. If no ringing is heard oi the cup ‘ses from the enge, c-adjst the height of Srop. If the cup rocks on the gage during {his checking operation, the cam follower pivot is excessively wor and the worn pars should be replaced. Always remove tape afer ‘completion of adjustment operation 5. PROCEDURE 5.1 The soil sample shall be placed in the mixing dish and thoroughly mixed With 15 10 20 mL of distilled or deminer- PONT wueRE cur CONTACTS Base. elon cause T89 alized water by alternately and rept edly stiting. kneading and choppin: with a spatula. Further additions of wate Shall be made in inerements of 1 10 3 mL. Each increment of water shall be thoroughly mixed with the soil as pre viously described before another incre- ‘ment of water is added. Once testing has begun, no additional dry soil should be added to the moistened soil. The cup of the Liquid Limit Device shall not be used for mixing soil and water. If too much moisture has been added t0 the sample, the sample shall either be dis- ccarded, or mixed and kneaded until natu ral evaporation lowers the closure point into an acceptable range. NOTE 3—Some soils ae slow to absorb water, therefore it is possible to add the increments of water so fas that a false liquid limit value is obtained. This ean be avoided if more mixing andr time is allowed. Tap water may be used for routine testing if com. parative tests indicate no differences in results between using tap water and distilled o de mineralized water. However, referee or dis ted test shall be performed using distilled or demineralized water. 5.2. When sufficient water has been thoroughly mixed with the soil to form 4 uniform mass of stiff consistency, a sufficient quantity of this mixture shall be placed in the cup above the spot where the cup rests on the base and shall be squeezed and spread withthe spatula to level and at the same time trimmed to a depth of 10 mum atthe point of maximum thickness. As few strokes of the spatula as possible shall be used, care being taken to prevent the entrapment of air Dubbles within the mass, The excess soil shall be returmed to the mixing dish. The a MASKING TAPE APPLIED AS A10 WW ADJUSTUENT OPERATION FIGURE 2 Calibration for Height of DropT89 METHODS OF SAMPLING AND TESTING FIGURE 3. Liquid Limit Di soil 1m the cup of the device shall be divided by a fim stroke of the grooving tool along the diameter through the cen terline of the cam follower so thet a clean sharp groove of the proper dimen: sions will be formed as shown in Figure 3. To avoid tearing of the sides of the groove or slipping of the soil cake on the cup, up to six strokes from front to back oF from back to front counting as fone stroke, shall be permitted. The depth Of the groove should be increased with each stroke and only the last stroke should scrape the bottom of the cup, 53. The cup containing the sample prepared as described in Section 5.2 shall, be lifted and dropped by turning the crank F at the rate of approximately two revolutions per second until the to sides ff the sample come in contact at the bottom of the groove along a distance of about 13 mm (0.5 in.). The number of shocks required to close the groove this distance shall be recorded. The base of the machine shall not be held with the free hand while the crank F is tomed, NOTE 4—Some soils tond to side on the surface ofthe cup instead of flowing. this revice With Sample in Place occurs, more water should be added (0 the sample and remixed, then the soil-water mix: ture placed in the vp. 2 groove cut with the rooving toot and Section 5.2 repeated. Ifthe Soil continues to slide on the cup at a lesser umber of blows than 25, the test is not applicable and 2 note should be made that the liquid limit could not be determined 54 A slice of soil approximately the width ofthe spatula, extending from edge to edge of the soil cake at right angles to the groove and including that portion of the groove in which the soil flowed together, shall be removed and placed in a suitable container. The soil in the container shall be dried in accordance with T 265, Laboratory Determination ‘of Moisture Content of Soils, 10 deter mine the moisture content, and record the results. 5.5. The soil remaining in the cup shall be transferred to the mixing dish. ‘The cup and grooving tool shall then be washed and dried in preparation for the next tial 5.6 The foregoing operations shall bbe repeated for at least two additional portions of the sample to which suffi 103 water has been added t0 bring the soil to a mote fluid condition. The object of this procedure is to obtain samples of such consisteney that at least one deter- ‘mination will be made in each of the following ranges of shocks: 25-35, 20- 30. 15-25, so the range in the three Seterminations is at least 10 shocks, 6. CALCULATION 6.1 The water content of the soil shall be expressed as the moisture con- tent in percentage of the mass of the ‘oven-dried soil and shall he calculated 3s follows: Percentage moisture mass of water ‘mass of oven dried soil * 1° GAA Calculate the percentage of moisture 10 the nearest whole percent 7. PREPARATION OF FLOW CURVE, 7.1 A“Flow Curve” representing the relation between moisture content and corresponding number of shocks shall be plotted on a semi-logarithmiec graph with the moisture contents as abscissae on the ‘aithmetical scale, and the number of shocks as ordinates on the logarithmic scale. The flow curve shall be a straight line drawn as nearly as possible through the three or more plotted points. 8. LIQUID LIMIT ‘The moisture content corres: ng to the intersection of the flow curve with the 25 shock ordinate shall be taken as the liquid limit of the soil Report this value to the nearest whole umber. METHOD B 9. SAMPLE 9.1 sample with 2 mass of about 50 g shall be taken as described im Sec tion 3.1104 METHODS OF SAMPLING AND TESTING T89 18. PROCEDURE “Tees 80 Tuou0 war fe 10.1The procedure shall be the same BE Bee en dy itadlene acortrte in Soon oft Ene dou mle samp uke nse = al only for the accepted tral = i 40 Toa For mcy col to = timed Oy he tinged eestor iv toa the weed mater oars * Repo cmt thultercede ‘tween 22 and 28 blows. After obtaining >= tal «riiay ceueh e seepane repeat as directed in Sections 5.2 and wot ~~ Sa ire cont cou eas in oe Fe ] acceptable range, secure a water content as and owe maybe snc aks tin ttle SUSE Bad? Oe * te 1. CALCULATIO’ content of the soil 3 the time of the accepted closure shall bbe calculated in accordance with Sec- tion 6.1. 12. LIQUID Lime 121. The liquid limit shall be deter ‘mined by one of the following methods the nomograph, Figure 4; the multicurve; Figure 5; the slide rule with a special “blows” scale, Figure 6, or by any other ‘method of calculation that produces equally accurate liquid limit values, The Standard three-point method shall be used as a referee test to settle all contro. 122. The key in Figure 4 illustrates the use of the nomograph (mean slope), 12.3 The chart (multi-flow curve), Figure 5. is used by plotting on ita point fepresenting the moisture content. vs hhumber of blows for the accepted tial, and drawing a line through the plotted Point parallel to the nearest chart curve. ‘The moisture content corresponding to FIGURE 4 Nomographic Chart Dey eloped by the Waterways Experiment Station, Corps of Engineers, US, Army, to Determine Liquid Limit Using Mean Slope Method rie oo HIGURES Chart Desdoped by Washington State Highway Deparment foe the C2 ulation of theT89 8 SLIDE RULE SET FOR 21 METHODS OF SAMPLING AND TESTING PERCENT MOISTURE AT 20 BLOWS, INDICATING CALCULATED LIQUIO LiMiT OF 20. FIGURE 6 Slide Rule with Special Scale for the Calculation of the Liquid Limit the intersection of this line with the 25+ blow line shall be recorded as the liq- uid Himit, 12.4 The special slide rule, Figure 6. is used by setting the haisline of the indicator slide coincident with the A. seale value of the moisture content for the accepted groove closure, and moving the special scale until the number of blows used for closure is also under the hairline, The liquid limit will then be found on the A-scale opposite the end index of the B-scale, or opposite the middle index of the B-scale, which in tum is directly in line with the 25-blow mark of the special scale. CHECK OR REFEREE TESTS 13. METHOD TO BE USED 13.1 In making check or referee tests, Method A shall be used. The results of liquid limit tests are influenced by: 13.11 The time requised to make the test 1B1.2 The moisture which the testis begun, 13.13 The addition of dry soil 10 the seasoned sample. content at 105 14. PROCEDURE, 14.1 Therefore, in making the liquid limit test for check or referee purposes, the following time schedule shall be used: 14.4.1 Mixing of soil with water—5 to 10 minutes, the longer period being used for the more plastic sails 14.12 Seasoning in the humidi- fer—30 minutes, 14.1.3 Remixing before placing in the brass cup—add 1 mL of water and mix for 1 minute 14.1.4 Placing in the brass cup and testing—3 minutes, 141.8 Adding water and remix- ing—3 minutes, 14.2 No trial requiring more than 35 blows or less than 15 blows shall be recorded. In no case shall dried soil be added to the seasoned soil being tested 18, PRECISION STATEMENT 15.1 This precision statement ap plies to soils having a liquid limit range of from 21 to 67. 15.2. Repeatability(single opera {or)—Two results obtained by the same ‘operator on the same sample in the same laboratory using the same apparatus, and (on different days should be considered suspect if they differ by more than 7 percent of their mean. 183 Reproducibility —(rnult laboratory)—Two results obtained by different operators in different labora tories should be considered suspect if they differ from each other by more than 1B percent of their mean,