ASSESSMENT OF ATTERBERG LIMITS USING SIEVE # 40 AND SIEVE #200

Abstract

Casagrande plasticity chart (CPC) based on liquid limit (LL) and plasticity index (PI) is used for classifying fine-grained soils. Fine soil is defined as a material having a size less than 0.075 mm (passed sieve #200) in conformity with the unified soil classification system (USCS). The amount of fine sand in the material that passes through the #40 sieve is expected to be significant, which causes significant errors when estimating the soil's class or plasticity level. Therefore, 120 samples of clay soil were obtained from different districts in Pakistan, and they were subjected to rigorous testing. The findings demonstrate that Atterberg limits estimated using sieve # 200 passing material were greater than those calculated using sieve # 40 passing material, resulting in changes to the liquid limit and level of plasticity index in CPC. However, it takes a lot of time and effort to determine Atterberg limits using material from sieve # 200. In order to accurately determine the Atterberg limits based on sieve # 200, prediction models were developed employing artificial neural network (ANN) and regression (MLR) techniques.