USE OF THE LIQUID LIMIT IN CHARACTERIZING CLAY SOILS

An index property for clay soils is sought to give the information that grain size gives about coarse-grained soils. The liquid limit is suggested as such an index property. The liquid limit is closely related to surface area for clay soils containing tabular clay minerals. This relation exists also for soils containing allophane or amorphous material. In addition to estimating surface area, liquid limit also gives information about the nature of the surface. In this respect it is a more useful measurement than clay content.