ChE 381: Unit Operations Laboratory

VISCOSITY OF LIQUIDS rev: Fall 2005

Introduction
Viscosity is a basic uid property which is often required by engineers to make estimates of transport behavior such as mass transfer and heat transfer. It appears in many of the engineering correlations (e.g. Reynolds number). There are numerous compilations of viscosity values (see Reid, Sherwood, and Prausnitz [4]) for pure uids and techniques to estimate viscosities for mixtures. The physical meaning of viscosity can be easily understood by considering the ow between two parallel plates as illustrated below:

If the lower plate is moved at constant velocity, a velocity prole is established in the uid. It has been found experimentally that the force required to keep the plate in motion is proportional to the velocity gradient in the uid. The proportionality constant is the viscosity as shown below: yx = dvx dy (1)

Where yx is the shear stress (the force per unit area) and is the viscosity. The negative sign is due to the coordinate system used for the velocity gradient. Fluids, which obey Equation 1, are called Newtonian. Typically, Equation 1 is obeyed for gases, water, hydrocarbons, and most relatively simple chemicals. Non-Newtonian uids are uids that do not obey Equation 1. In these uids, the viscosity will not be a constant but a function of the shear stress. Some examples are polymer solutions, colloidal mixtures, and two phase solutions.

The purpose of this Unit Operations Laboratory is to measure values for the viscosity of both a Newtonian and non-Newtonian uid. To accomplish this, it is necessary to devise a simple experiment which allows one to measure the shear stress and the velocity eld set up in the uid. By Equation 1 this gives the viscosity.

Theory
This section describes the basic experimental approach for two techniques to determine the viscosity. Further details are given in the references. Falling Ball Viscometer The concept is to measure the rate of fall of a sphere through a liquid. This very simple experiment allows theoretical determination of the shear stress and velocity eld and thus yields the viscosity. Its basis is Stokes Law which states that for this ow conguration the drag force on the sphere is proportional to the viscosity as shown below: FD = 6av (2)

where a is the radius of the sphere, and v is the relative velocity of the uid past the sphere. This very simple and convenient expression is only valid for very low Reynolds numbers (less than 0.1). Equation 2 contains two unknowns. One can be eliminated using force balance on the sphere: mg = FD + Fb where mg is the gravitational force and
Fb

(3)

is the buoyant force (given Archimedes Law).

Combining these relations gives the expression for the uid viscosity = 2a2 (s f )g 9v (4)

This simple relation is the result of selecting a clever experimental set-up, which only requires the measurement of the rate of fall of the sphere. It is necessary to calibrate the unit with a solution of known viscosity. An example would be the use of a water-sucrose solutions.

Capillary Tube Viscometer In this experiment the owrate and pressure drop across a capillary tube are measured. As with the falling ball experiment, these measurements yield the shear rate and the velocity prole and thus can be used to determine the uid viscosity. For a Newtonian uid, the Hagen-Poiseuille equation states that the owrate is proportional to the pressure drop and the only unknown in the proportionality constant is the viscosity. This experimental approach can also be used for non-Newtonian uids. However, the mathematics leading to a useful expression for the viscosity is much more complex. For many non-Newtonian uids, a power-law relation (Ostwald-deWaele model) can be used to characterize the dependence of the shear rate on the velocity gradient yx = m| where m and n are empirical constants. When this equation is used in the capillary ow experiment, the following equation is obtained for the relation between the pressure drop and the owrate. This model suggests how the experimental data should be plotted to obtain values of the constants m and n in Equation 5. m 3n + 1 n Q P = R 2 R 2L (6) dvx n | dy (5)

Experimental
The equipment for the falling sphere viscometer should be carefully cleaned before beginning the experiments. It is suggested that replicate experiments be performed to obtain an estimate of the accuracy and the method and the probable uncertainty in the resulting values of the viscosity. The capillary ow unit consists of a series of small capillary tubes which can be lled with the liquid under study and pressurized with air. Use caution in the pressurizing and depressurizing steps. Always open the vent slowly. A good choice for the Newtonian uid is olive oil. A non-Newtonian uid can be prepared by mixing a 0.5% solution of CARBOPOL R in warm tap water. The laboratory mixer can be used to obtain a uniform solution. The maximum pressure that should be used with the capillary unit is 60 psig.

References
[1] R. B. Bird, W. E. Stewart, and E. N. Lightfoot, Transport Phenomena, 2nd ed. Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2002. [2] J. Davidson, R. Clift, and D. Harrison, Eds., Fluidization, 2nd ed. 1995. John

Academic Press,

[3] R. H. Perry and D. W. Green, Eds., Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 7th ed. McGraw-Hill, 1997. [4] R. C. Reid, J. M. Prausnitz, and T. K. Sherwood, The Properties of Gases and Liquids, 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill, 1977.