Determination of Consistency Limits Based on Suction Stress Characteristic Curve

Abstract

Consistency limits, especially the liquid and plastic limits, are prominent parameters to be determined in geotechnical investigations for classification and identification of finegrained soil. An investigation of the soil suction stress characteristic curve (SSCC) for determination of consistency limits is conducted in this work. The typical SSCC can be divided into five zones according to the state of pore water retention and the mechanisms of solid-liquid interactions. The correspondences between consistency limits of fine-grained soils and characteristic points of every zone in the SSCC are investigated. A detailed discussion of the intrinsic relationships between zones in the SSCC and soil consistency reveals the physical nature of each zone and the critical moisture content. Using experimental data from soil-water characteristic tests of undisturbed loess and disturbed loess, and van Genuchten's soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) model, consistency limits are determined for SSCCs with different void ratios. The feasibility of the presented approach for determining consistency limits of fine-grained soils based on SSCC is demonstrated.