Expert Idea on Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit Estimation with Soil Resistivity Profile

Year 2012, Volume: 2 Issue: 4, 19 - 23, 23.07.2016

Zamri Chik S.M. Taohidul Islam Hilmi Sanusi Mohd. Marzuki Mustafa

Abstract

This paper presents the idea on determination of liquid limit and plastic limit with soil electrical resistivity in geotechnical investigations. Depending on the moisture contents, the soil behavior is revealed as solid, semisolid, plastic and liquid states in geotechnical engineering and other division of civil engineering. Determination of liquid limit and plastic limit of soil in conventional laboratory test is very tedious, slower and costly for the laboratory testing example as fall cone testing with a lot of collected soil sample. In this work, a method of soil liquid limit and plastic limit determination with electrical resistivity is revealed to define the state of soil as well as the relationship of soil particle distribution in the soil site investigations of geotechnical engineering. In addition, soil resistivity measurements with moisture contents and conventional laboratory test as fall cone test are performed whereas experimental results in laboratory and results from the available literature review are considered. A good correlation of soil electrical resistivity and moisture contents is demonstrated in results to determine the liquid limit, LL and plastic limit, PL in soil behavior. The research is most significant to obtain faster, cost-effective and consistent performance in soil liquid limit and plastic limit determination through electrical signal for a wide range of applications in geotechnical engineering

Keywords

Liquid limit, Plastic limit, Fall cone test, Electrical resistivity profile

References

• Avnimelech , Y. , Ritvo, G., Meijer, L.E., and Kochba, M. (2001) Water content, organic carbon and dry bulk density in flooded sediments. Aquacultural Engineering, 25, 25–33. PII: S0144-8609(01)00068-1
• Sridharan, A., and Nagaraj, H. B. (2005) Plastic limit and compaction characteristics of fine grained soils. Ground Improvement, 9 (1), 17–22. DOI: 10.1680/grim.2005.9.1.17
• Doolittle, J.A., Sudduth, K.A., Kitchen, N.R., and Indorante, S.J. (1994) Estimating depths to claypans using electromagnetic induction methods. J. Soil and Water Conservation, 49, 572-575. http://www. jswconline.org/content/49/6/572.full.pdf
• Elshorbagy, W.A., and Mohamed, A.M.O. (2000) Evaluation of using municipal solid waste compost in landfill closure caps in arid areas. Waste Management, 20, 499-507. DOI: 10.1016/S0956-053X(00)00025-8
• Friedman, S.P. (2005) Soil properties influencing apparent electrical conductivity: a review. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 46, 45–70. DOI: 10.1016/j.compag.2004.11.001
• Huang, H., and Fraser, D.C. (2002) Dielectric permittivity and resistivity mapping using high-frequency, helicopter-borne EM data. Geophysics, 67 (3), 727–738. DOI: 10.1190/1.1484515
• Kelleners, T.J., Robinson, D.A., Shouse, P.J., Ayars, J.E., and Skaggs, T.H. (2005) Frequency dependence of the complex permittivity and its impact on dielectric sensor calibration in soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 69, 67–76. http://ddr.nal.usda.gov/bitstream/10113/4074/1/IND43668307.pdf
• McNeill, J.D. (1980) Electromagnetic terrain conductivity measurement at low induction numbers. Technical note TN- 6,Geonics Limited, Mississauga, Ontario,1980. Osella, A., and Favetto, A (2000) Effects of soil resistivity on currents induced on pipelines. Journal of Applied Geophysics, 44, 303–312.DOI:10.1016/S0926-9851(00)00008-2.
• Saarenketo, T. (1998) Electrical properties of water in clay and silty soils. Journal of Applied Geophysics, 40, 73–88. DOI:10.1016/S0926-9851(98)00017-2
• Samouelian, A., Cousin, I., Tabbagh, A., Bruand, A., and Richard, G. (2005) Electrical resistivity survey in soil science: a review. Soil & Tillage Research, 83, 173–193. DOI: 10.1016/j.still.2004.10.004
• Sridharan, A., and Gurtug, Y. (2004) Swelling behaviour of compacted fine-grained soils. Engineering Geology, 72, 9 –18. DOI:10.1016/S0013-7952(03)00161-3
• Yoon, G.L., and Park, J.B. (2001) Sensitivity of leachate and fine contents on electrical resistivity variations of sandy soils. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 84, 147–161. DOI:10.1016/S0304-3894(01)00197-2
• Benson, C.H., and Trast, J. M. (1995) Hydraulic conductivity of thirteen compacted clays. Clays and Clay Minerals, 43(6), 669-681. http://www.clays.org/journal/archive/volume%2043/43-6-669.pdf