Use of Uniform and Inert Beads for the Determination of Shrinkage Limit of Fine Grained Soils

Shrinkage limit is one of the important index properties determined in the laboratory, which has practical applications such as classification of soils based on their degree of expansivity and as a measure of volumetric stability of clayey soils in the field. The conventional method of its determination requires the use of mercury, which is a heath hazardous substance. This paper proposes and discusses the use of beads of an inert material having uniform grain size for the determination of volume of dry soil pat, which is required for calculating the shrinkage limit of the soil. The shrinkage limit values obtained from the use of uniform beads of an inert material compare very well with those obtained from the conventional mercury displacement method and are within the acceptable limits.