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Soil Consistency

8. SOIL CONSISTENCY
8.0 Definition of soil consistency

Soil consistency is the strength with which soil materials are held together or the resistance of soils to
deformation and rupture. Soil consistency is measured for wet, moist and dry soil samples. For wet soils,
it is expressed as both stickiness and plasticity, as defined below. Soil consistency may be estimated in
the field using simple tests or may be measured more accurately in the laboratory.

Note : in each case, indications will be obtained concerning the relative value of soil for fish-pond
construction, particularly when the wet-soil consistency is determined. In the tests which follow (Sections
8.1 and 8.2), soils which are particularly good for pond construction are highlighted with two axterisks(**).

8.1 Determination of wet-soil consistency

Testing is done when the soil is saturated with water, as, for example, immediately after a good rainfall.
First, determine stickiness, that is, the ability of soil materials to adhere to other objects. Then, determine
plasticity, that is, the ability of soil materials to change shape, but not volume, continuously under the
influence of a constant pressure and to retain the impressed shape when the pressure is removed.

Field test for stickiness of wet soil

Press a small amount of wet soil between your thumb and forefinger to see if it will stick to your fingers.
Then slowly open your fingers. Rate the stickiness as follows:

0 Non-sticky, if no soil or practically no soil sticks to 1 Slightly sticky, if the soil begins to stick to your
your fingers; fingers but comes off one or the other cleanly and
does not stretch when the fingers are opened;

**2 Sticky, if the soil sticks to both the thumb and **3 Very sticky, if the soil sticks firmly to both thumb
forefinger and tends to stretch a little and pull apart and forefinger and stretches when the fingers are
rather than pulling free from your fingers; opened.

Field test for plasticity of wet soil

Roll a small amount of wet soil between the

palms of your hands until it forms a long, round

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strip like a wire about 3 mm thick. Rate the
plasticity as follows:

0 Non-plastic, if no wire can be formed;

1 Slightly plastic, if a wire can be formed but can

easily be broken and returned to its former state;

**2 Plastic, if a wire can be formed but, when it is

broken and returned to its former state, it cannot
be formed again;

**3 Very plastic, if a wire can be formed which

cannot be broken easily and, when it is broken, it
can be rolled between your hands and be
reformed several times.

8.2 Determination of moist-soil consistency

Field test for moist-soil consistency

Testing is done when the soil is moist but not wet,

as, for example, 24 hours after a good rainfall.

Try to crush a small amount of moist soil by

pressing it between your thumb and forefinger or
by squeezing it in the palm of your hand. Rate
moist soil consistency as follows:

0 Loose , if the soil is non-coherent (single-grain 1 Very friable , if the soil crushes easily under very
structure); gentle pressure but will stick together if pressed
again;
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2 Friable , if the soil crushes easily under gentle to **3 Firm , if the soil crushes under moderate
moderate pressure; pressure but resistance is noticeable;

**4 Very firm , if the soil crushes under strong 5 Extremely firm , if the soil crushes only under very
pressure, but this is difficult to do between the strong pressure, cannot be crushed between the
thumb and forefinger; thumb and forefinger, but must be broken apart bit
by bit.

8.3 Determination of dry-soil consistency

Field test for dry-soil consistency

Testing is done when the soil has been air-dried.

Try to break a small amount of dry soil by pressing

it between your thumb and forefinger or by
squeezing it in the palm of your hand. Rate dry soil
consistency as follows:

0 Loose , if the soil is non-coherent (single-grain 1 Soft, if the soil is very weakly coherent and
structure): friable. breaking to powder or individual grains
under very slight pressure;

2 Slightly hard, if the soil resists light pressure, but 3 Hard, if the soil resists moderate pressure, can
can be broken easily between thumb and barely be broken between the thumb and
forefinger; forefinger, but can be broken in the hands without
difficulty;

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12/5/12 8. Soil Consistency

4 Very hard, if the soil resists great pressure, 5 Extremely hard, if the soil resists extreme
cannot be broken between the thumb and pressure and cannot be broken in the hands.
forefinger but can be broken in the hands with
difficulty;

8.4 Determination of soil consistency using the Atterberg Limits

As can be seen from the various wet, moist and dry soil tests in Sections 8.1 to 8.3, the consistency of a
soil sample changes with the amount of water present. Such changes in soil consistency may be
accurately measured in the laboratory following standard procedures which determine the Atterberg
Limits. These limits may then be used for judging the suitability of the soil, e.g., for the construction of
small earth-dams and pond dikes. You should become familiar with the terminology related to this
process, as well as with its general significance, the better to understand and discuss fish-pond design
and construction with specialized technicians.

An Atterberg Limit corresponds to the moisture content at which a soil sample changes from one
consistency to another. Two of the Atterberg Limits are of particular interest for aquaculture, the liquid
limit and the plastic limit, which are defined from three soil consistencies:

Liquid consistency - fluid or liquid mud; Atterberg Limits - soil consistency

Plastic consistency - kneading and moulding to
shape are possible;
Semi-solid consistency - no more kneading is
possible and the volume decreases (shrinkage)
as the sample dries up.

The liquid limit (LL)

The percentage moisture content at which a soil changes with decreasing wetness from the liquid to the
plastic consistency or with increasing wetness from the plastic to the liquid consistency.

The plastic limit (PL)

The percentage moisture content at which a soil changes with decreasing wetness from the plastic to the
semi- solid consistency or with increasing wetness from the semi-solid to the plastic consistency.

The plastic limit is the lower limit of the plastic state. A small increase in moisture above the plastic limit
will destroy the cohesion* of the soil.

Note : these limits may be easily and cheaply determined in the laboratory, using disturbed or undisturbed
samples. They provide very useful information for classifying soils (see Chapter 11). In Tables 12 and 13,
examples of Atterberg Limits are given.

Both the liquid and plastic limits depend upon the amount and type of clay present in the soil:

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A soil with a high clay content usually has high LL and PL;
Colloidal clays have higher LL and PL than non-colloidal clays;
Sand, gravel and peat have no plasticity, their PL= 0;
Silts have plasticity only occasionally, their PL being equal to or slightly greater than 0.

Examples
Typical laboratory tests showing average LL and PL
(percentages moisture)
Soil type LL PL
Sands 20 0
Silts 27 20
Clays 100 45
Colloidal clays 399 46

Some critical values of the Atterberg Limits for aquaculture

For constructing a pond dike without a clay core*, the liquid limit of the soil material should be equal to 35
percent for best compaction*results.

For constructing the impervious clay core* of a pond dike, you should use soil material with an LL greater
than 60 percent and a PLgreater than 20 percent.

Field determination of the plastic limit - the thread method

Take a soil sample and let it dry; Add a little water to the soil sample and roll it on a
flat surface like a small glass plate. Try to form a
thread 3 mm thick and 10 cm long without
breaking it;

If you do not succeed, add a little more water and

try again;
Repeat this process, adding a little more water
each time, until you can roll a thread. The water
content will then correspond to the plastic limit

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12/5/12 8. Soil Consistency

and can be expressed as a percent of the weight

of the sample.

8.5 Calculation of the plasticity index and its significance

On the basis of the liquid limit and the plastic limit, the plasticity index (PI) can be defined as the numerical
difference between them:

PI = LL - PL

The plasticity index is expressed in percent of the dry weight of the soil sample. It shows the size of the
range of the moisture contents at which the soil remains plastic. In general, the plasticity index depends
only on the amount of clay present. It indicates the fineness of the soil and its capacity to change shape
without altering its volume. A high PI indicates an excess of clay or colloids in the soil. Its value is zero
whenever the PL is greater or equal to the LL.

The plasticity index also gives a good indication of compressibility (see Section 10.3). The greater the PI,
the greater the soil compressibility. Examples of plasticity index values are given below in Tables 12 and
13.

Examples
Plasticity of various silt/clay soils
PI Degree of
Category Soil
(percentage) plasticity
Sand or silt 0-1 Non-plastic
Slight
traces of 1-5
I plasticity
clay
little clay 5-10 Low plasticity

Medium
II Clay loam 10-20
plasticity
20-35 High plasticity
Silty clay
III Very high
Clay >35
plasticity

Some critical values of the plasticity index for aquaculture

To construct a pond dike without a clay core*, the plasticity index of the soil material should have a value
between 8 and 20 percent. For best compaction, the PI should be as close to 16 percent as possible (see
Section 10.3).

To construct the impermeable clay core* of a pond dike, you should use soil material with a plasticity
index greater than 30 percent.
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TABLE 12
Selected results of mechanical soil analyses (analyses of disturbed soil samples collected from open
pits)1
Percentages smaller than (dry Atterberg Texture, fine
weight basis): Limits earth
Depth 4.75 2 0.425 0.075 LL PL PI Sand Silt Clay Soil
Sample Permeability
(cm) mm Percentage group2
OPEN PIT A
1 60 100 100 100 98 36 21 15 4.4 70.0 25.6 CL Poor
2 120 100 100 99 96 37 24 13 6.6 69.2 24.2 CL Poor
3 180 100 100 96 92 30 21 9 10.0 72.0 18.0 CL Poor
4 240 100 100 98 94 32 19 13 7.8 69.0 23.2 CL Poor
OPEN PIT B
1 60 100 100 100 90 Non-plastic 13.0 82.0 5.0 ML Poor
2 120 100 100 98 88 Non-plastic 15.0 80.4 4.6 ML Poor
3 180 100 100 99 89 30 22 8 12.6 70.0 17.4 CL Poor
4 240 100 100 90 86 38 23 15 15.0 58.4 26.6 CL Poor

1 Soil survey for the construction of the Soraon Pati Hatchery (Uttar Pradesh, India).
2 See Section 11.1.

Comments:
Predominantly silt with a good clay percentage;
Textural class from silty clay loam to silt and silty clay;
The Atterberg Limits show that the soil is fairly plastic and suitable for embankment construction (good
stability and low seepage losses).

TABLE 13
Selected results of mechanical soil analyses (analyses of disturbed soil samples collected from auger
bores)1
Atterberg Limits Texture, fine earth
LL PL PI Sand Silt Clay
Auger bore number Depth (cm) Soil group2
Percentage
30 41.28 23.70 17.58 66 25 9 CI
60 37.43 19.70 17.73 74 20 6 CI
90 37.49 22.06 15.43 73 22 5 CI
4
120 34.52 22.16 12.36 69 27 4 CL
150 33.62 22.50 11.12 70 26 4 CL
180 29.36 18.61 9.75 73 26 1 CL
30 32.40 18.00 13.60 72 23 5 CL
60 38.29 20.40 17.89 72 22 6 CI
90 39.18 21.76 17.42 70 24 6 CI
5
120 36.66 24.00 12.66 66 29 5 CI
150 29.53 24.00 5.53 71 28 1 CL-ML
180 28.81 21.70 7.11 71 28 1 CL-ML
30 34.35 23.56 10.79 75 22 3 CL
60 43.35 24.82 18.53 60 30 10 CI
90 45.08 27.72 17.36 58 30 12 CI
6 120 37.32 26.84 10.48 72 26 2 CI

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150 37.80 25.34 12.46 67 30 3 CI

180 34.61 25.35 9.26 73 25 2 CL
30 47.42 34.21 13.21 51 37 12 CI
60 52.71 33.96 18.75 52 35 13 MH-OH
90 50.93 35.29 15.64 60 30 10 MH-OH
7
120 38.96 32.89 6.07 64 28 8 MI-Cl
150 62.45 45.57 16.88 58 30 12 MH-OH
180 61.72 38.15 23.57 57 31 12 MH-OH

1 Soil survey for a fish-farm site (Majargahi Gaura, India).

2 See Section 11.1.

Comments:
Predominantly sand with a good silt percentage and little clay;
Textural class is sandy loam throughout;
The Atterberg Limits show that the soil is fairly plastic and suitable for pond construction.

8.6 The plasticity chart for fine-grained soils

Many properties of clays and silts (the cohesive soils) such as their compressibility* (reaction to the
shaking test and consistency near the plastic limit) can be correlated with the liquid limit and the plasticity
index. This correlation has been expressed in Casagrande's plasticity chart for fine-grained soils. It is
based on the following observations:

As the liquid limit of soils increases, the plasticity and compressibility of soils also increase;
The values LL = 30 percent and LL = 50 percent differentiate between the various degrees of plasticity of
inorganic soils;
At equal LL values, the dry strength of inorganic soils increases generally with an increasing plasticity index.

The plasticity chart for fine-grained soils (see Table 14) is divided into six sections by the oblique line A
drawn so that the PI = 0.73 (LL - 20) and two vertical lines drawn at LL = 30 percent and LL = 50 percent.

Each section of the chart characterizes a group of soils with well-defined mechanical characteristics. The
three sections above line A are inorganic clays of low, medium or high plasticity. The three sections
below line A are inorganic silts of varying compressibility, organic silts and organic clays. These form the
basis of a useful soil classification system (see Chapter 11).

Note : soils with a plasticity index lower than 10 percent and a liquid limit lower than 20 percent are
cohesionless soils. These appear in a separate section of the plasticity chart and the above
considerations do not apply.

TABLE 14
Plasticity chart for fine-grained soils

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