Which type of soil is primarily evaluated using Atterberg Limits?

Atterberg Limits are essential for characterizing fine-grained soils, which include silts and clays. This test measures the critical moisture contents of these soils, specifically the liquid limit, plastic limit, and shrinkage limit. These limits help in understanding the behavior of fine-grained soils under varying moisture conditions, determining their plasticity, and assessing their suitability for construction and engineering purposes.

Fine-grained soils have particles smaller than 0.075 mm and exhibit distinct changes in their physical properties as moisture content varies. The Atterberg Limits provide valuable insight into the workability, compressibility, and stability of these soils, making them crucial in geotechnical engineering and soil classification.

Other types of soils, such as coarse-grained soils, loamy soils, and sandy soils, do not undergo the same critical changes in consistency with moisture content and do not require the Atterberg Limits for evaluation. Coarse-grained soils have larger particles and are evaluated based on their gradation, compactness, and drainage characteristics instead.