Viscosity of Fluids

By Muhammad Usman
(08-chem-02-B)
12-10-2009
 History
• Word “Viscosity” is derived from a Latin word
“Viscum” for mistletoe (Hemi-parasitic
plants).
• A viscous glue was made from mistletoe
berries and used for lime-twigs to catch birds.
 η - Apparent Viscosity
The shear rate dependence of η categorizes non-
Newtonian fluids into several types.
Power Law Fluids:
 Pseudoplastic : – η (viscosity) decreases as shear rate increases
(shear rate thinning)
 Dilatants : – η (viscosity) increases as shear rate increases
(shear rate thickening)

 Bingham Plastics:
η depends on a critical shear stress (t0) and then becomes
constant
 Viscosity (resistance to flow)

Shear  
stress
Pete 314 1.6
 Units of viscosity
• The viscosity is the slope of the line of shear stress versus shear rate so its
SI unit is 1 Pa / (1/s) = 1 Pa · s
• The customary unit of viscosity is the poise , however it is too large a unit
for most common fluids.
• By sheer coincidence the viscosity of pure water at about is 0.01 poise; for
that reason the common unit of viscosity in the US is the centipoise.

g
1 cP  0.01
cm  s
1 cP  0.001 Pa  s 1 Pa  s  1
kg
 1000 cP 
ms
lbm
1 cP  6.72  10 -4

ft  s
Pete 314 1.7
 Coefficients of viscosity
1. Dynamic viscosity (Absolute viscosity)
2. Volume viscosity (Bulk viscosity)
3. Shear viscosity
4. Extensional viscosity
5. Kinematic viscosity
 Coefficients of viscosity
• Dynamic viscosity (Absolute viscosity):
Determines the dynamics of an incompressible Newtonian fluid
• Volume viscosity (Bulk viscosity):
Determines the dynamics of a compressible Newtonian fluid
• Shear viscosity:
Is the viscosity coefficient when the applied stress is a shear
stress (valid for non-Newtonian fluids)
• Extensional viscosity:
Is the viscosity coefficient when the applied stress is an
extensional stress (valid for non-Newtonian fluids)
 Kinematic viscosity
• Dynamic viscosity divided by the density for a
Newtonian fluid
 Eddy viscosity
• As we know that shear stress (τ) for a laminar flow is

• Where µ is the absolute viscosity.

• Ev is analogous to absolute viscosity (µ), called

Eddy Viscosity
 Eddy diffusivity
• As we know that kinematic viscosity is

• similarly Eddy Diffusivity is

• Eddy Diffusivity is analogous to kinematic viscosity

 Total shear stress
• Total shear stress in a turbulent flow is the
sum of viscous stress & turbulent stress.

• Similarly
 Viscosity
Liquids Gases
• Viscosities of liquids are • Viscosities of gases are very
very much greater than much lower than liquids (due
gases. to far spaces between molecules)

• Viscosity decrease with • Viscosity increase with

temperature increase. e.g. temperature increase
viscosity of water falls from approximately according to
1.79cp (at 0°C) to 028cp (at equation
100°C)
 Viscosity
Liquids Gases
• Viscosity increase with great • Viscosity of gas is almost
increase in pressure. independent of pressure in
the regions where gas laws
are applicable
• At high pressure, viscosity
increase with pressure,
especially near critical point
 Fluid
• A fluid is a substance that does not
permanently resist distortion.
• Study of viscosity is called Rheology.
• Types of Fluid:
• Whenever a shear force is applied onto a fluid
its velocity gradient has a relationship with it
involving a constant quantity called viscosity in
it. Whenever their behavior is studied on this
basis, they are classified in 2 general types.
 Types of Fluids
1. Newtonian:
Whenever for these fluids a shear stress is
plotted vs. rate of shear at constant
temperature & pressure, a straight line is
obtained passing through origin. These fluids
always follow this linear curve.
Example:
Gases & most liquids are Newtonian.
 Newtonian fluids
• Shear stress is related to shear rate by this
relationship

• here shows the shear stress arising from viscous

or laminar flow.
• is the symbol of viscosity here that is a constant
no. in case of Newtonian fluids.
Newtonian vs. non-Newtonian rheology
t  f ( )

Pete 314 1.20

 Non- Newtonian Fluids
• A non- Newtonian fluid is one in which the
viscosity is a function some mechanical
variable like shear stress or time.
• Non- Newtonian fluids that change over time
are said to have a memory.
• There are different types of non- Newtonian
fluids based upon the variation from linear
behavior. They are following…
Types

Shear rate
thinning fluids
Shear rate
thickening fluid
 Shear thinning fluids
• Shear-thinning fluids can be classified into one of three
general groups.
• A material that has a viscosity that decreases under shear
stress but stays constant over time is said to be
Pseudoplastic.
• A material that has a viscosity that decreases under shear
stress and then continues to decrease with time is said to
be thixotropic.
• If the transition from high viscosity (or nearly semisolid) to
low viscosity (or essentially liquid) takes place only after
the shear stress exceeds some minimum value, the
material is said to be a Bingham plastic.
Pete 314 1.24
Bingham Plastics
Bingham plastics exhibit
Newtonian behavior after
the shear stress exceeds to.
For flow in circular
conduits Bingham plastics
behave in an interesting
fashion.
 Examples of shear thinning fluids
• House paint is a shear-thinning fluid.
• Brushing, rolling, or spraying are means of
temporarily applying shear stress. This reduces
the paint's viscosity to the point where it can
now flow out of the applicator and onto the wall
or ceiling. Once this shear stress is removed the
paint returns to its resting viscosity, which is so
large that an appropriately thin layer behaves
more like a solid than a liquid and the paint does
not run or drip.
 Examples of shear thinning fluids
• Toothpaste is another example of a material whose
viscosity decreases under stress. Toothpaste behaves
like a solid while it sits at rest inside the tube. It will
not flow out spontaneously when the cap is removed,
but it will flow out when you put the squeeze on it.
Now it ceases to behave like a solid and starts to act
like a very thick liquid. when it lands on your
toothbrush, the stress is released and the toothpaste
returns to a solid (or at least a semisolid) state. You do
not have to worry about it flowing off the brush as you
raise it to your mouth.
 Shear thickening fluid
• Materials that thicken when worked or agitated are called
shear-thickening fluids.
• An example is a paste made of cornstarch and water (mixed
in the correct proportions). The resulting bizarre goo
behaves like a liquid when squeezed slowly and an elastic
solid when squeezed rapidly. Ambitious science
demonstrators have filled tanks with the stuff and then run
across it. As long as they move quickly the surface acts like a
block of solid rubber, but the instant they stop moving the
paste behaves like a liquid and the demonstrator winds up
taking a cornstarch bath.
• The shear-thickening behavior makes it a difficult bath to get
out of. The harder you work to get out, the harder the
material pulls back on you. The only way to escape is to move
slowly.
 Shear thickening fluid
• They're ideal candidates for body armor and
protective sports padding.
• A bulletproof vest or a kneepad made of
shear-thickening material would be supple
and yielding to the mild stresses of ordinary
body motions, but would turn rock hard in
response to the traumatic stress imposed by
a weapon or a fall to the ground.
 Types
• Shear-thickening fluids are also divided into two groups.
• Those with
• a time-dependent viscosity (memory materials) and
• those with a time-independent viscosity (non-memory
materials).
• Rheopectic:
• If the increase in viscosity increases over time, the
material is said to be rheopectic.
• Dilatants:
• If the increase is roughly directly proportional to the shear
stress and does not change over time, the material is said
to be dilatants.
Bibliography
• Nevers, d. fluid mechanics for chemical engineers.
mcGrawhill.
• physics hypertext. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://physics.info/viscosity/
• warren l. Mccabe, j. c. unit operations of chemical
engineering. mcGraw - hill.
• wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved
from www.wikipedia.org:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viscosity