Definition of Viscosity:

The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to gradual

deformation by shear stress or tensile stress. For liquids, it
corresponds to the informal notion of "thickness".

Viscosity is a property arising from friction between neighboring
particles in a fluid that are moving at different velocities. When the
fluid is forced through a tube, the particles which comprise the fluid
generally move faster near the tube's axis and more slowly near its
walls: therefore some stress, (such as a pressure difference between
the two ends of the tube), is needed to overcome the friction between
particle layers and keep the fluid moving. For the same velocity
pattern, the stress required is proportional to the fluid's viscosity.
A liquid's viscosity depends on the size and shape of its particles and
the attractions between them.
A fluid that has no resistance to shear stress is known as an ideal
fluid or inviscid fluid. Zero viscosity is observed only at very low
temperatures, in superfluids. Otherwise, all fluids have positive
viscosity. If the viscosity is very high, for instance in pitch, the fluid will
appear to be a solid in the short term. A liquid whose viscosity is less
than that of water is sometimes known as a mobile liquid, while a
substance with a viscosity substantially greater than water is called
a viscous liquid.

Definition of Dynamic (shear) viscosity:
The dynamic (shear) viscosity of a fluid expresses its resistance to
shearing flows, where adjacent layers move parallel to each other
with different speeds. It can be defined through the idealized situation
known as a Couette flow, where a layer of fluid is trapped between
two horizontal plates, one fixed and one moving horizontally at
constant speed . (The plates are assumed to be very large, so that
one need not consider what happens near their edges.)

If the speed of the top plate is small enough, the fluid particles will
move parallel to it, and their speed will vary linearly from zero at the
bottom to at the top. Each layer of fluid will move faster than the
one just below it, and friction between them will give rise to
a force resisting their relative motion. In particular, the fluid will apply
on the top plate a force in the direction opposite to its motion, and an
equal but opposite one to the bottom plate. An external force is
therefore required in order to keep the top plate moving at constant
speed.


Definition of Kinematic viscosity:

The kinematic viscosity is the ratio of the dynamic viscosity to
the density of the fluid .


Unit of Dynamic Viscosity:
The SI physical unit of dynamic viscosity is the pascal-second (Pas),
(equivalent to (Ns)/m
2
, or kg/(ms)). If a fluid with a viscosity of one
Pas is placed between two plates, and one plate is pushed sideways
with a shear stress of one pascal, it moves a distance equal to the
thickness of the layer between the plates in one second.
Unit of Kinematic Viscosity:
The SI unit of kinematic viscosity is m
2
/s.


Viscosity in Fluids:
Most common fluids, called Newtonian fluids (yes, another thing
named after that Newton), have a constant viscosity. There is a
greater resistance as you increase the force, but it's a constant
proportional increase. In short, a Newtonian fluid keeps acting like a
fluid, no matter how much force is put into it.
In contrast, the viscosity of non-Newtonian fluids is not constant, but
rather varies greatly depending on the force applied. A classic
example of a non-Newtonian is Oobleck, which exhibits solid-like
behavior when a large amount of force is used on it. Another type of
non-Newtonian fluid are known as magneto rheological fluids, which
respond to magnetic fields by becoming nearly solid but reverting to
their fluid state when removed from the magnetic field.













Fluidity:
The reciprocal of viscosity is fluidity, usually symbolized
by = 1 / or F = 1 / , depending on the convention used,
measured in reciprocal poise (cmsg
1
), sometimes called the
rhe. Fluidity is seldom used in engineering practice.
The concept of fluidity can be used to determine the viscosity of
an ideal solution. For two components and , the fluidity
when a and b are mixed is

,
Which is only slightly simpler than the equivalent equation in terms of
viscosity:



where
a
and
b
is the mole fraction of
component a and b respectively, and
a
and
b
are the components'
pure viscosities.

Non-standard units:
The Reyn is a British unit of dynamic viscosity.
Viscosity index is a measure for the change of kinematic
viscosity with temperature. It is used to characterize lubricating oil in
the automotive industry.
At one time the petroleum industry relied on measuring kinematic
viscosity by means of the Saybolt viscometer, and expressing
kinematic viscosity in units of Saybolt Universal Seconds (SUS).
Other abbreviations such as SSU (Saybolt Seconds Universal) or
SUV (Saybolt Universal Viscosity) are sometimes used.
Kinematic viscosity in centistoke can be converted from SUS
according to the arithmetic and the reference table provided
in ASTM D 2161.


Viscosity of selected substances:

Air:
Pressure dependence of the dynamic viscosity of dry air at the
temperatures of 300, 400 and 500 K.
The viscosity of air depends mostly on the temperature. At 15 C, the
viscosity of air is 1.8110
5
kg/(ms), 18.1 Pa.s or 1.8110
5
Pa.s.
The kinematic viscosity at 15 C is 1.4810
5
m
2
/s or 14.8 cSt. At 25
C, the viscosity is 18.6 Pa.s and the kinematic viscosity 15.7 cSt.
One can get the viscosity of air as a function of temperature from
the Gas Viscosity Calculator.

Water:
Dynamic viscosity of water:
The dynamic viscosity of water is 8.90 10
4
Pas or 8.90
10
3
dyns/cm
2
or 0.890 cP at about 25 C.
Water has a viscosity of 0.0091 poise at 25 C, or 1 centipoise at 20
C.
As a function of temperature T (K): (Pas) = A 10
B/(TC)

where A=2.414 10
5
Pas ; B = 247.8 K ; and C = 140 K.
Viscosity of liquid water at different temperatures up to the normal
boiling point is listed below:









Temperature
[C]
Viscosity
[mPas]
10 1.308
20 1.002
30 0.7978
40 0.6531
50 0.5471
60 0.4658
70 0.4044
80 0.3550
90 0.3150
100 0.2822

The Physical Basis of Viscosity:
Viscosity is a measure of the ease with which molecules move
past one another.
It depends on the attractive force between the molecules.
It depends on whether there are structural features which may
cause neighboring molecules to become "entangled".
Viscosity decreases with increasing temperature - the
increasing kinetic energy overcomes the attractive forces and
molecules can more easily move past each other.
What factors can affect viscosity?
temperature
concentration
attractive force
particle size
1-Temperature:

LIQUIDS AND GASES REACT OPPOSITELY TO CHANGES
IN TEMPERATURE.
In liquids, when the temperature increases (energy added) the
particles move faster and begin to move away from each
other. Because the particles are moving around more they can
flow more their viscosity is lower. In gases, the particles are
far apart so when energy is added the particles move faster
and collide with each other more often causing an increase in
viscosity

2-Concentration:
Concentration is the amount of substance that is
dissolved in a specific volume.
An increase in concentration will usually result in an
increase in viscosity.

3-Attractive Force:
Particles of the same substance have an attractive
force on one another.
Some substances have a strong attraction while some
substances have a weaker attraction.
The stronger the attraction of particles, the higher the
viscosity.
4-Particle Size:
The size of the particles of a substance will greatly
affect its viscosity.
Small particles can move more easily past each other
and can therefore flow faster, meaning they have a
lower viscosity.
Large particles would mean a higher viscosity.
















MEASURING VISCOSITY:

Measuring viscosity is an effective way to know the state
(properties of matter) or fluidity of a liquid or gas. It plays an
important role in the quality control and in various research and
development stages of a wide range of industries, including
Food, Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Petrochemical, Cosmetics,
Paint, Ink, Coatings, Oil and Automotives. For example, the
viscosity of a liquid is an important parameter for designing the
piping in a plant or transporting crude oil or chemical agent
through a pipeline. In the electronic engineering industry,
photresist fluid is used in the production processes of the
printed circuit board, cathode-ray tube, and flat liquid crystal
display. Controlling the viscosity of photoresist fluid is a crucial
factor to determine the qualities, performance, and yields of
finished products. Among those industries, it has been also
recognized that controlling optimum viscosity reduces
production costs.

Viscous fluid is divided into two broad categories:

Newtonian fluid, subject to Newtons law of viscosity, viscosity
is constant regardless of the flow (movement).

Non-Newtonian fluid, which is not subject to Newtons law of
viscosity, viscosity changes according to the flow (movement).
Note: subject to a constant temperature.

Vibro Viscometer:

The figure 1 shows the basic mechanism of one of the vibro
0viscometers, A&Ds Sine-wave Vibro Viscometer. When the
spring plates are vibrated with a uniform frequency, the
amplitude varies in response to the amount of frictional force
produced by the viscidity between the sensor plates and the
sample. To produce uniform amplitude, the vibro viscometer
controls the electrical current that drives the vibration of the
spring plates.



Figure 1

Rotational Viscometer:

A motorized cylindrical rotor is inserted into a sample and
rotated at a constant speed. The rotational viscometer employs
the measurement method that assumes viscosity is directly
proportional to a running torque required to produce a steady
rotating motion. As shown in figure 2, when the rotation
becomes steady, the running torque caused by the viscosity and
the twist of the spring is balanced. The twist angle of the spring
is proportional to the viscosity of the sample, and an index of
this is displayed on the scale. Some devices display the digital
value of the viscosity coefficient converted from running torque.
The method shown in figure 2, the single cylindrical rotational
viscometer.

Figure 2
Capillary Viscometer:

In a capillary viscometer the laminar flow of liquid flows through
a cylindrical capillary tube. You determine viscosity by
measuring the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the capillary
tube and the pressure differential between both ends of the
capillary tube. This measurement method is based on the laws
of physics; therefore, this is called the absolute measurement of
viscosity.

There is an another type of capillary viscometer, made of glass,
is shown in figure 3. Although using this capillary tube is not
easy, it has a simple principle and structure. Due to the
simplicity of the principle, it has been used for a long time and
has been greatly improved over the years. This capillary
viscometer can obtain kinetic viscosity by measuring the time it
takes for a certain amount of sample to flow by free-fall through
the capillary tube.



Refernces :

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viscosity
2. http://physics.about.com/od/physicsutoz/g/Viscosity.htm
3. http://www.mikeblaber.org/oldwine/chm1045/notes/Forces/Liqui
ds/Forces03.htm
4. http://www.qclabequipment.com/VISCOSITY.html