Acta Geodynamica et Geomaterialia

Title: IQUID LIMIT DETERMINATION OF MEDIUM TO HIGH PLASTICITY ALGERIAN SOILS USING FALL-CONE VS CASAGRANDE PERCUSSION CUP METHODS
Authors: Malki Karim and Abed Younes
DOI: 10.13168/AGG.2024.0011
Full Text: PDF file (0.8 MB)
Keywords: Liquid limit, consistency, fall-cone test, bentonite mixtures, plasticity, Casagrande percussion
Abstract: Determining the liquid limit (LL) of fine-grained soils is crucial in geotechnical site investigations. For a long time, the Casagrande Percussion Cup (CPC) test has been the standard method for this purpose. Although the Fall Cone Test (FCT) provides more repeatable results compared to the CPC test, its utilization remains limited in Algeria. To assess the effectiveness of the FCT, a comparative study was conducted using mixtures of bentonite and natural soils from Algeria. The choice of bentonite as an additive to soils with low plasticity is in order to formulate new samples with a wide range of plasticity. Our results showed that the LLCONE values slightly exceeded the LLCUP values for natural soil samples with medium plasticity. However, for soils with high and extreme plasticity, the LLCONE values significantly underestimated the LLCUP values. To address this issue, an equation was developed to convert LLCONE measurements to LLCUP values. This equation is consistent with previous literature and could help promote the adoption of the FCT method for geotechnical site investigations in Algeria.