Running Head: Viscosity

University of Technology

General Chemistry Lab 1 (CHY2022)

Experiment #4: Determination of the viscosity of motor oils by the falling-sphere

method

Name: Davion Tracey

ID#: 1402673

Course of Study: B. Eng. Mechanical Engineering

Olando McLaughlin

ID#: 1401817

Course of Study: BSc Construction Engineering

Lecturer: Mrs. Barnett

Lab Session: Mondays 11 – 2 pm

Lab Date: March 11, 2019

Date of Submission: March 14, 2019

Running Head: Viscosity

Table 1: Showing the Oil Types and the Various Parameters of the Cylinder and Sphere Associated with each
Oil Type Temperature Effective Total height Total height Internal Mass of Radius Volume of
of oil/℃ height of of oil before of oil after diameter of sphere/kg of sphere/m3
oil used/m experiment/m experiment/ cylinder/m sphere/
m m
-3
20W-50 26.00 0.3120 0.4120 0.4100 0.07776 5.1646 x 10 0.01105 5.652 x 10-6

10W-30 26.00 0.3110 0.4110 0.4090 0.07748 5.1689 X 10-3 0.01081 5.291 x 10-6

5W-30 25.00 0.3160 0.4160 0.4120 0.07774 5.1260 x 10-3 0.01093 5.470 x 10-6

Table 2: Showing Time Taken For Sphere to Descend 20W-50 Motor Oils at Room Temperature.

Time taken for sphere to travel effective distance

Oil Type Average
Trial 1/s Trial 2/s Trial 3/s Trial 4/s Trial 5/s

5W-30 3.95 3.71 3.68 3.65 3.44 3.69

10W-30 3.31 3.29 3.25 3.23 3.16 3.25

20W-30 18.61 17.87 17.75 17.73 17.48 17.89

Running Head: Viscosity

Sample Calculation:
Oil Type: 5W-30

[2 𝑔 𝑅 2 (𝑝𝑠 − 𝑝𝑙)𝑡]
Ƞ=
[9 𝐿 (1 + 2.4𝑋)(1 + 1.65 𝑦)]

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 5.1260 ∗ 10^ − 3

Ps = = = 937.1 𝑘𝑔/𝑚^3
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 5.470 ∗ 10^ − 6

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 8.3292 ∗ 10^ − 3

Pl = = = 833 𝑘𝑔/𝑚^3
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 10.0 ∗ 10^ − 6

𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 0.02185

X= = = 0.2811
𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 0.07774

𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 0.02185

Y= = = 0.05252
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 0.4160

[2 ∗ 9.81 ∗ 0.010932 (937.1 − 833)3.69] −1

Ƞ= = 0.2 Kgm−1s /200 cP
[9 ∗ 0.3160 (1 + 2.4 ∗ 0.2811)(1 + 1.65 ∗ 0.05252)]

. Oil Type: 10W-30

[2 𝑔 𝑅 2 (𝑝𝑠 − 𝑝𝑙)𝑡]
Ƞ=
[9 𝐿 (1 + 2.4𝑋)(1 + 1.65 𝑦)]

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 5.1689 ∗ 10^ − 3

Ps = = = 976.9 𝑘𝑔/𝑚^3
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 5.291 ∗ 10^ − 6

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 8.9247 ∗ 10^ − 3

Pl = = = 892 𝑘𝑔/𝑚^3
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 10.0 ∗ 10^ − 6
Running Head: Viscosity

𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 0.02162

X= = = 0.2790
𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 0.07748

𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 0.02162

Y= = = 0.05260
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 0.4110

[2 ∗ 9.81 ∗ 0.010812 (976.9 − 892) ∗ 3.25] −1

Ƞ= = 0.1 Kgm−1s / 100 cP
[9 ∗ 0.3110 (1 + 2.4 ∗ 0.2790)(1 + 1.65 ∗ 0.05260)]

Oil Type: 20W-30

[2 𝑔 𝑅 2 (𝑝𝑠 − 𝑝𝑙)𝑡]
Ƞ=
[9 𝐿 (1 + 2.4𝑋)(1 + 1.65 𝑦)]

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 5.1646 ∗ 10^ − 3

Ps = = = 910.5 𝑘𝑔/𝑚^3
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 5.652 ∗ 10^ − 6

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 17.672 ∗ 10^ − 3

Pl = = = 884 𝑘𝑔/𝑚^3
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 20.0 ∗ 10^ − 6

𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 0.02210

X= = = 0.2842
𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 0.07776

𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 0.02210

Y= = = 0.05364
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 0.4120

[2 ∗ 9.81 ∗ 0.011052 (910.5 − 884) ∗ 17.89] −1

Ƞ= = 0.22 Kgm−1s / 220 cP
[9 ∗ 0.3120 (1 + 2.4 ∗ 0.2842)(1 + 1.65 ∗ 0.05364)]
Running Head: Viscosity

Exercise:
Rank the brand motor oils in terms of increasing viscosity:
Base on the results obtained and the viscosities calculated the motor oils in terms of increasing
viscosity are as follows, 10W30, 5W30 and then 20W30. Based on theory however the 5W30
should have the lowest viscosity seen that all oils were tested on at room temperature. The first
number, 5, 10 and 20 in this case, is a measurement of how easily the oil pours at low
temperatures. The lower the number, the thinner it will be in these conditions: therefore a 5 will
be easier to pour than a 10. Hence the 5w30 should have indicated the lowest viscosity, however
it didn’t. Possible due to the fact that the mass of the sphere wasn’t kept constant for all three
oils. The mass of the sphere used for 10W30 was far greater than the mass used for 5W30,
therefore it’s obvious the denser sphere would descend through the oil quicker than the less
dense sphere.

The importance of the viscosity of motor oils

Viscosity is a measure of oil’s resistance to flow. It decreases (thins) with increasing temperature
and increases (or thickens) with decreased temperature. These conditions explain why oil will
flow much more easily in summer at a temperature of 25℃, than it will flow in winter at minus
25℃.Viscosity affects heat generation in bearings, cylinders and gear sets related to oil's internal
friction. It governs the sealing effect of oils and the rate of oil consumption, as well as
determines the ease with which machines may be started or operated under varying temperature
conditions, particularly in cold climates. The viscosity will determine how easily the oil is
pumped to the working components, how easily it will pass through the filter, and how quickly it
will drain back to the engine. The lower the viscosity the easier all this will happen. That is why
cold starts are so critical to an engine because the oil is cold, and so relatively thick. But, the
lower the viscosity, the less the load the oil can support at the bearing on the crankshaft. The
higher the viscosity, the better the load it can support. Even this, however, has a trade-off, since
the higher the viscosity, the more the drag at the bearing, and hence, potential power loss, or
increased fuel consumption. So a compromise is chosen to minimize power loss, but maximize
load support.
Running Head: Viscosity

Highlight three major sources of error in this experiment

 Human reaction time in starting the stopwatch when the sphere reached the first rubber
band around the measuring cylinder and stopping the stop watch when it reach the rubber
band at the lower section of the cylinder. In order to reduce this error, three persons with
stop watches were used to time the sphere falling through the oil and the average of these
three readings were taken.

 The height at which the sphere was released each time for the 5 trials was difficult to
reproduce hence the sphere fell with different momentums due to the distance it was held
before it was released.

 Each time the sphere was retrieved from the cylinder with the oil, some of the fluid was
removed resulting in a reduction in the height of the fluid. Hence for calculating the
viscosity, for the variable L which is the distance the sphere travels the initial height that
was recorded was not the same height after the sphere was dropped and retrieved hence
this would have yielded a slightly incorrect value for the viscosity.

 The sphere that was used was not perfectly solid meaning that it had some gaps/holes
within therefore the rate at which it displaced the oil would have been influenced by these
gaps. And all three spheres were different meaning that they had different number of gaps
which resulted in the mass of the spheres been different.

 Edge effect was at play

 The equation used to calculate viscosity is a modified version of stokes equation.

List three ways in which the accuracy of your results could be improved
1. Keeping the mass of the sphere constant, using different size spheres results in the
experiment being flawed. For instance knowing from theory that the 5W30 oil is the
thinnest of all three oils, results obtained during the lab should confirm this theory.
However because less dense sphere was used with this oil it resulted in it having a greater
Running Head: Viscosity

viscosity than the 10W30 which is not true. So keeping the mass of the sphere constant
should increase the accuracy of the experiment.

2. Keeping the height at which the sphere is released constant. Varying the height at which
the sphere is release will result in the sphere having different momentums or reaching
terminal velocity in the oil quicker than it should. The higher the sphere is held the more
energy it possess (potential energy) as this is directly dependent on height. Therefore
keeping the height constant will result in the stored energy remaining constant also, hence
improving the accuracy of the experiment.

3. Instead of using a spoon to retrieve the sphere, a thin piece of string with negligible mass
could be attached to sphere. This string would be long enough to prevent any hindrance
to the sphere as it descends. When the sphere reaches the bottom it would then be raised
by the string. This would prevent too much of the oil from leaving the cylinder therefore
improving the accuracy.
Running Head: Viscosity
Running Head: Viscosity