Atterberg limits – definition focus: The water content at which a soil continues to lose weight upon drying but no longer decreases in volume is called what?

Introduction / Context:
Atterberg limits demarcate transitions in soil consistency with changing water content. The shrinkage limit is critical for understanding volumetric stability upon drying, relevant to cracking of clayey subgrades and shrink–swell behavior in foundations and earth structures.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Standard laboratory determination pursuant to soil testing standards.
• Soil remains intact; no loss of solids during drying.

Concept / Approach:
As a moist soil dries from liquid → plastic → semi-solid → solid states, both mass and volume reduce until the shrinkage limit is reached. Below this water content, further drying removes water (mass decreases), but the soil’s dry volume remains constant—no further shrinkage occurs.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Shrinkage limit tests plot water content vs volume; the curve flattens beyond the limit, confirming constant volume and decreasing mass.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Plastic limit marks plastic–semi-solid transition, not constant-volume drying.
• Liquid limit marks liquid–plastic transition.
• “Semi-solid limit” is a descriptive state, not the specific constant-volume threshold.
• Shrinkage ratio is a derived index, not the limit itself.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing shrinkage limit with plastic limit; using percent vs decimal inconsistently.

Final Answer:
Shrinkage limit