Comparison of obtaining clay consistency limits using the Swedish and English cones

Abstract

Knowing the physical and mechanical properties of soft soils is complicated and their properties, whether index or mechanical, are generally correlated through the water content, the liquid limit, the plastic limit, etc. In addition, there are also soft clay soils, which sometimes have the presence of diatoms, being soils little studied, so their properties and their behavior in general are unknown. In this study, three types of soft soils were considered: bentonite, kaolin and diatomite from Lake Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. The study consisted of analyzing each of the soils separately and subsequently some combinations were made between them. The laboratory techniques that were used were through the swedish and english cones, as well as the Casagrande cup, in order to compare the results through the two techniques. The soils were dried with a microwave oven and in the conventional way, this allowed determining the water content, estimating the resistance not drained by the penetration of the cone. At the end the results obtained and an analysis of these are presented.