Plastic limit (soils)

The Plastic Limit, also known as the lower plastic limit, is the water content at which a soil changes from the plastic state to a semisolid state.

The change from a semisolid state to a plastic state is gradual, and so any definition of a boundary limit must be somewhat arbitrary. Therefore a standard empirical definition is used. The plastic limit is the water content at which a soil can be rolled into threads one-eighth inch in diameter without the soil breaking into pieces.

The plastic limit and liquid limit are used together for soil identification and classification.

See also

Thixotropy

External links

• Undergraduate worksheet from University of Maine Civil Engineering Department - Soil Mechanics Laborary