Statistics of Atterberg limit values of some pure kaolinitic clays

ABSTRACT Atterberg limits of soils are the most basic and widely used geotechnical characterisation of fine-grained soils. While the indicative values for different clay types (e.g. kaolinite, smectite, illite) are quite known, no in-depth statistical analysis has been performed to understand any possible variations of the values. In this note, 128 data on Atterberg limits of kaolinitic clays have been gathered and statistically analysed to understand the distribution of the data and to understand whether variations in mean values and variances are detectable. A measurement system analysis has been performed on a kaolinitic sample to detect possible variations of measurements. Based on regression analysis to obtain plasticity index (PI) values from liquid limit (LL) values, a Monte Carlo analysis was performed by building models of possible results by substituting a range of values for the LL factors.