Viscosity-1

Viscometer-2
Relation Between Viscosity &Temperature-3

Vogel Equation-4

Programming Of Vogel Equation-5

 1st
?what is viscosity
 Viscosity
• Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid to deform under
shear stress. It is commonly perceived as "thickness", or resistance to
flow. Viscosity describes a fluid's internal resistance to flow and may
be thought of as a measure of fluid friction. Thus, water is "thin",
having a lower viscosity, while vegetable oil is "thick" having a higher
viscosity. All real fluids (except super fluids) have some resistance to
shear stress, but a fluid which has no resistance to shear stress is
known as an ideal fluid or in viscid fluid (Symon 1971).

• When looking at a value for viscosity the number that one most often
sees is the coefficients of viscosity, simply put this is the ratio between
the pressure exerted on the surface of a fluid, in the lateral or
horizontal direction, to the change in velocity of the fluid as you move
down in the fluid (this is what is referred to as a speed gradient). For
example water has a viscosity of 1.0 x 10-3 Pa∙s and motor oil has a
viscosity of 250 x 10-3 Pa∙s. (Serway 1996, p. 440)
 Newton's theory
• Laminar shear of fluid
between two plates.
Friction between the fluid
and the moving
boundaries causes the
fluid to shear. The force
required for this action is a
measure of the fluid's
viscosity. This type of
flow is known as a
Couette flow.
• Laminar shear, the non-
linear gradient, is a result
of the geometry the fluid is
flowing through (e.g. a
pipe).
• In general, in any flow,
layers move at different
velocities and the fluid's
viscosity arises from the
shear stress between the
layers that ultimately
opposes any applied force.
• Isaac Newton postulated that, for straight,
parallel and uniform flow, the shear stress, τ,
between layers is proportional to the velocity
gradient, ∂u/∂y, in the direction perpendicular
to the layers, in other words, the relative
motion of the layers.
• Here, the constant η is known as the
coefficient of viscosity, the viscosity, or the
dynamic viscosity. Many fluids, such as
water and most gases, satisfy Newton's
criterion and are known as Newtonian fluids.
Non-Newtonian fluids exhibit a more
complicated relationship between shear stress
and velocity gradient than simple linearity.
• The relationship between the shear stress and the velocity
gradient can also be obtained by considering two plates closely
spaced apart at a distance y, and separated by a homogeneous
substance. Assuming that the plates are very large, with a large
area A, such that edge effects may be ignored, and that the
lower plate is fixed, let a force F be applied to the upper plate. If
this force causes the substance between the plates to undergo
shear flow (as opposed to just shearing elastically until the shear
stress in the substance balances the applied force), the substance
is called a fluid. The applied force is proportional to the area
and velocity of the plate and inversely proportional to the
distance between the plates. Combining these three relations
results in the equation F = η(Au/y), where η is the
proportionality factor called the absolute viscosity (with units
Pa·s = kg/(m·s) or slugs/(ft·s)). The absolute viscosity is also
known as the dynamic viscosity, and is often shortened to
simply viscosity. The equation can be expressed in terms of
shear stress; τ = F/A = η(u/y). The rate of shear deformation is u
/ y and can be also written as a shear velocity, du/dy. Hence,
through this method, the relation between the shear stress and
the velocity gradient can be obtained.
• In many situations, we are concerned with the
ratio of the viscous force to the inertial force,
the latter characterised by the fluid density ρ.
This ratio is characterised by the kinematic
viscosity, defined as follows:

• James Clerk Maxwell called viscosity fugitive

elasticity because of the analogy that elastic
deformation opposes shear stress in solids,
while in viscous fluids, shear stress is opposed
by rate of deformation.
 Units
• Viscosity (dynamic/absolute viscosity): η or μ
• The IUPAC symbol for viscosity is the Greek symbol eta (η), and dynamic viscosity is
also commonly referred to using the Greek symbol mu (μ). The SI physical unit of
dynamic viscosity is the pascal-second (Pa·s), which is identical to 1 kg·m−1·s−1. If a
fluid with a viscosity of one Pa·s 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. The name poiseuille (Pl) was proposed for
this unit (after Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille who formulated Poiseuille's law of viscous
flow), but not accepted internationally. Care must be taken in not confusing the
poiseuille with the poise named after the same person!

• The cgs physical unit for dynamic viscosity is the poise[1] (P; IPA: [pwaz])) named after
Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille. It is more commonly expressed, particularly in ASTM
standards, as centipoise (cP). The centipoise is commonly used because water has a
viscosity of 1.0020 cP (at 20 °C; the closeness to one is a convenient coincidence).

• 1 P = 1 g·cm−1·s−1
• The relation between Poise and Pascal-second is:

• 10 P = 1 kg·m−1·s−1 = 1 Pa·s
• 1 cP = 0.001 Pa·s = 1 mPa·s
 :Kinematic viscosity
• Kinematic viscosity (Greek symbol: ν) has SI units (m2·s−1). The cgs physical
unit for kinematic viscosity is the stokes (abbreviated S or St), named after
George Gabriel Stokes. It is sometimes expressed in terms of centistokes (cS or
cSt). In U.S. usage, stoke is sometimes used as the singular form.

• 1 stokes = 100 centistokes = 1 cm2·s−1 = 0.0001 m2·s−1.

• 1 centistokes = 1 mm²/s

• Dynamic versus kinematic viscosity

• Conversion between kinematic and dynamic viscosity, is given by νρ = η. Note
that the parameters must be given in SI units not in P, cP or St.

• For example, if ν = 1 St (=0.0001 m2·s-1) and ρ = 1000 kg·m-3 then η = νρ =

0.1 kg·m−1·s−1 = 0.1 Pa·s [1].

• For a plot of kinematic viscosity of air as a function of absolute temperature,

see James Ierardi's Fire Protection Engineering Site
 Molecular origins
• The viscosity of a system is determined by how
molecules constituting the system interact. There
are no simple but correct expressions for the
viscosity of a fluid. The simplest exact expressions
are the Green-Kubo relations for the linear shear
viscosity or the Transient Time Correlation
Function expressions derived by Evans and
Morriss in 1985. Although these expressions are
each exact in order to calculate the viscosity of a
dense fluid, using these relations requires the use
of molecular dynamics computer simulation.
 Gases
• Viscosity in gases arises principally from the
molecular diffusion that transports momentum
between layers of flow. The kinetic theory of
gases allows accurate prediction of the behaviour
of gaseous viscosity, in particular that, within the
regime where the theory is applicable:

• Viscosity is independent of pressure; and

• Viscosity increases as temperature increases.
 Liquids
• In liquids, the additional forces between molecules become
important. This leads to an additional contribution to the shear
stress though the exact mechanics of this are still
controversial.[citation needed] Thus, in liquids:

• Viscosity is independent of pressure (except at very high

pressure); and
• Viscosity tends to fall as temperature increases (for example,
water viscosity goes from 1.79 cP to 0.28 cP in the temperature
range from 0 °C to 100 °C); see temperature dependence of
liquid viscosity for more details.
• The dynamic viscosities of liquids are typically several orders of
magnitude higher than dynamic viscosities of gases.
 Viscosity of materials
• The viscosity of air and water are by far the
two most important materials for aviation
aerodynamics and shipping fluid dynamics.
Temperature plays the main role in
determining viscosity.
 Viscosity of air
• The viscosity of air depends mostly on
the temperature. At 15.0 °C, the
viscosity of air is 1.78 × 10−5
kg/(m·s). You can get the viscosity of
air as a function of altitude from the
eXtreme High Altitude Calculator
 Viscosity of various materials
• The Sutherland's formula can be used
to derive the dynamic viscosity as a
function of the temperature:

• where:
• η = viscosity in (Pa·s) at input
temperature T
• η0 = reference viscosity in (Pa·s) at
reference temperature T0
• T = input temperature in kelvin
• T0 = reference temperature in kelvin
• C = Sutherland's constant
 ?Can solids have a viscosity
• If on the basis that all solids flow to a small extent
in response to shear stress then yes, substances
know as Amorphous solids, such as glass, may be
considered to have viscosity. This has led some to
the view that solids are simply liquids with a very
high viscosity, typically greater than 1012 Pa•s.
This position is often adopted by supporters of the
widely held misconception that glass flow can be
observed in old buildings. This distortion is more
likely the result of glass making process rather
than the viscosity of glass.
• However, others argue that solids are, in general, elastic for small
stresses while fluids are not. Even if solids flow at higher stresses,
they are characterized by their low-stress behavior. Viscosity may
be an appropriate characteristic for solids in a plastic regime. The
situation becomes somewhat confused as the term viscosity is
sometimes used for solid materials, for example Maxwell materials,
to describe the relationship between stress and the rate of change of
strain, rather than rate of shear.

• These distinctions may be largely resolved by considering the

constitutive equations of the material in question, which take into
account both its viscous and elastic behaviors. Materials for which
both their viscosity and their elasticity are important in a particular
range of deformation and deformation rate are called viscoelastic. In
geology, earth materials that exhibit viscous deformation at least
three times greater than their elastic deformation are sometimes
called rheids.

• One example of solids flowing which has been observed since 1930
is the Pitch drop experiment.
 Bulk viscosity
• The trace of the stress tensor is often identified
with the negative-one-third of the
thermodynamic pressure:

• which only depends upon the equilibrium state

potentials like temperature and density
(equation of state). In general, the trace of the
stress tensor is the sum of thermodynamic
pressure contribution plus another
contribution which is proportional to the
divergence of the velocity field. This constant
of proportionality is called the bulk viscosity.
 Eddy viscosity
• In the study of turbulence in fluids, a common
practical strategy for calculation is to ignore the
small-scale vortices (or eddies) in the motion and
to calculate a large-scale motion with an eddy
viscosity that characterizes the transport and
dissipation of energy in the smaller-scale flow.
Values of eddy viscosity used in modeling ocean
circulation may be from 5x104 to 106 Pa·s
depending upon the resolution of the numerical
grid.
 Fluidity
• The reciprocal of viscosity is fluidity, usually symbolized by φ = 1 / η or
F = 1 / η, depending on the convention used, measured in reciprocal poise
(cm·s·g-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 a and b, the fluidity when a and b are mixed
is

• which is only slightly simpler than the equivalent equation in terms of

viscosity:

• where χa and χb is the mole fraction of component a and b respectively, and

ηa and ηb are the components pure viscosities.
 The linear viscous stress tensor
• Viscous forces in a fluid are a
function of the rate at which the fluid
velocity is changing over distance.
The velocity at any point is
specified by the velocity field .
The velocity at a small distance
from point may be written as a
Taylor series:
• Where is shorthand for the dyadic product of the
del operator and the velocity:
 Measuring viscosity
• Viscosity is measured with various types of viscometer,
typically at 20 °C (standard state). For some fluids, it is a
constant over a wide range of shear rates. The fluids
without a constant viscosity are called Non-Newtonian
fluids.

• In paint industries, viscosity is commonly measured with a

Zahn cup, in which the efflux time is determined and given
to customers. The efflux time can also be converted to
kinematic viscosities (cSt) through the conversion
equations.

• Also used in paint, a Stormer viscometer uses load-based

rotation in order to determine viscosity. It uses units,
Krebs units (KU), unique to this viscometer.
 2nd
Viscometer
 Viscometer
• A viscometer (also called viscosimeter) is an instrument used to
measure the viscosity and flow parameters of a fluid.

• The classical method of measuring due to Stokes, consisted of

measuring the time for a fluid to flow through a capillary tube.
Refined by Cannon, Ubbelohde and others, the glass tube viscometer
is still the master method for the standard determination of the
viscosity of water. The viscosity of water is 0.890 mPa·s at 25 degrees
Celsius, and 1.002 mPa·s at 20 degrees Celsius.

• Glass tube viscometers can have a reproducibility of 0.1% under ideal

conditions, which means immersed in a fluid bath, but are not ideally
suited for measuring fluids with high solids contents, or viscosity.
Further, they are impossible to use to accurately characterise non-
newtonian fluids, which the majority of fluids of interest tend to be.
There are international standard methods for making measurements
with a capillary instrument, such as ASTM D445.
 Vibrating viscometers
• These kinds of viscometers are the most rugged system to
measure viscosity in process condition. This technology is
very simple, the active part of the sensor is a vibrating rod.
The vibration amplitude varies according to the viscosity
of the fluid in which the rod is immersed. These viscosity
meters are suitable to measure clogging fluid and fluid
very viscous (up 1 000 000 cP). Nowadays, all industrials
around the world consider these viscometers as the most
efficent system to measure viscosity. As a matter of fact
the rotational viscometers required too much maintenance,
can not measure clogging fluid, and after an intensive use
the measurement is not stable and need a new calibration.
The vibrating viscometers are the best because there are no
weak parts, this process viscometer require no
maintenance and the measurement is instantaneous and
need not new calibration. This technology is patented by
SOFRASER.
 Rotation viscometers
• Rotational viscometers uses the idea that the force required to turn an object
in a fluid, can indicate the viscosity of that fluid.
• The common Brookfield-type viscometer determines the required force for
rotating a disk or bob in a fluid at known speed.
• 'Cup and bob' viscometers work by defining the exact volume of sample
which is to be sheared within a test cell, the torque required to achieve a
certain rotational speed is measured and plotted. There are two classical
geometries in "cup and bob" viscometers, known as either the "Couette" or
"Searle" systems - distinguished by whether the cup or bob rotates. The
rotating cup is preferred in some cases, because it reduces the onset of Taylor
vortices.
• 'Cone and Plate' viscometers use a cone of very shallow angle in bare contact
with a flat plate. With this system the shear rate beneath the plate is constant
to a modest degree of precision and deconvolution of a flow curve; a graph of
shear stress (torque) against shear rate (angular velocity) yields the viscosity
in a straightforward manner.
 Stormer viscometer
• The Stormer viscometer is a rotation instrument used to
determine the viscosity of paints, commonly used in paint
industries. It consists of a paddle-type rotor that is spun by an
internal motor, submerged into a cylinder of viscous substance.
The rotor speed can be adjusted by changing the amount of load
supplied onto the rotor. For example, in one brand of
viscometers, pushing the level upwards decreases the load and
speed, downwards increases the load and speed.

• The viscosity can be found by adjusting the load until the

rotation velocity is 200 rotations/minute. By examining the load
applied and comparing tables found on ASTM D 562, one can
find the viscosity in Krebs units (KU), unique only to the
Stormer type viscometer.

• This method is intended for paints applied by brush or roller.

 Miscellaneous viscometer types

• Other viscometer types use bubbles, balls or other objects.

Viscometers that can measure fluids with high viscosity or
molten polymers are usually called rheometers or
plastometers.

• Vibrational viscometers date back to the 1950s Bendix

instrument, which is of a class that operates by measuring
the damping of an oscillating electromechanical resonator
immersed in a fluid whose viscosity is to be determined.
The resonator generally oscillates in torsion or transversely
(as a cantilever beam or tuning fork). The higher the
viscosity, the larger the damping imposed on the resonator.
The resonator's damping may be measured by one of
several methods:
• 1-Measuring the power input necessary to keep
the oscillator vibrating at a constant amplitude.
The higher the viscosity, the more power is
needed to maintain the amplitude of oscillation.
• 2-Measuring the decay time of the oscillation once
the excitation is switched off. The higher the
viscosity, the faster the signal decays.
• 3-Measuring the frequency of the resonator as a
function of phase angle between excitation and
response waveforms. The higher the viscosity, the
larger the frequency change for a given phase
change.
• The vibrational instrument also suffers from
a lack of a defined shear field, which makes
it unsuited to measuring the viscosity of a
fluid whose flow behaviour is not known
before hand.

• In the I.C.I "Oscar" viscometer, a sealed can

of fluid was oscillated torsionally, and by
clever measurement techniques it was
possible to measure both viscosity and
elasticity in the sample.
• Principle of the combined viscometer and densimeter.
• Density measurement principle.
• Viscosity measurement principle.
Computer Controlled Ubbelohde
Viscometer
• For liquid viscosity measurements we have recently
developed a computer controlled system around a
commercial Ubbelohde viscosimeter (Schott KPG
Ubbelohde viscometer). The viscometer is arranged in a
double wall glas cylinder for thermostating with a
commercial circulating thermostat. To pump the liquid in
the capillary a membran air pump controlled with valves is
connected to the viscometer. The flowtime of the liquid is
measured by photoelectric beams. A high precision
thermometer (PT 100) is attached for temperature
measurement.
• The complete control of the measurement system
is carried out with the help of the Windows
program "ViscoMeasurement". The control
program is connected to the pure component
databank of the Dortmund Data Bank (DDB-
PCP). We are able to run automatic temperature
programs for high precision viscosity
measurements up to 353 K (limited up to now by
the thermostat) and a viscosity range from 0.3 to
100 mm²/s (cSt).
• A schematic drawing of the setup is shown in the
following figure:
• Typical results of a measurement are plotted in the following diagram
together with data from literature.
• The main window of the control program contains all
important input and the current status of the measurement:
 .Concentric cylinder viscometer
• The formulae derived apply to the measurement of Newtonian
fluids, confined between concentric cylinders of infinite length,
and neglecting any inertial effects [ref. 1]. The inner and outer
cylinders are of radius R1 and R2 respectively, and rotate with a
relative angular velocity O. Considering the fluid between the
inner cylinder and a tadius r; each particle moves with a constant
angular velocity, such that the net torque on the fluid is zero. The
torque G per unit length on a cylindrical surface at radius r is
• G = 2 pi R1^2 s1
• where s1 is the shear stress on the inner cylinder, The shear stress
at any radius r is
• s = G / 2 pi r^2
• and in particular, at the outer cylinder is
• s2=G / 2 pi R2^2.
Figure 1: Horizontal section of a concentric cylinder
.viscometer and deformation of a fluid element
 .Viscometer Mechanism
• Operation of the viscometer mechaalsm is now
described, see figure 3; Complete engineering 
drawings are shown in Appendix C. All major
parts were machined from Dural, with the
exception of the stirrer: the corrosive nature of the
lubricants under study necessitates the use of glass
for this component. In all experiments the
assembly was suspended above the test fluid by a
retort stand.
• A small DC motor (A) drives the disk (E), the outer edge of which
is removed over 180 degrees, as shown in the detail. Disk (F) is
also cut in a sirhilar way. Disks (E) and (F) may rotate
independently about the same axis, due to the bearings in (E) and
lower plate (C). The outer end of spiral hair spring (1) is bolted to
(E), while the inner end slots into part (F). Therefore the lower
disk (F) is indirectly driven by the upper disk (E), via torque
spring (I). Connected to (F) by means of a pinned push-fit joint is
the chuck (G). Three nylon screws in this component clamp the
glass stirring rod (J) securely. The dimensions of the cylindrical,
stirring end of (J) restrict the instrument to measurement over a
certain range of viscosity. Different ranges can easily be obtained
by altering the size of this stirring cylinder. In the following
experiments two stirrers were used, one with a cylinder diameter
of 2cm and length of 2cm, the other with a cylinder diameter of 1
cm and length 2cm.
• An infra-red light beam is emitted by the LED (L), and passes
through the mechanism before detection by the photo diode (M).
The LED cover (D) ensures that the beam is sufficiently narrow
that reflections from parts of the mechanism do not disrupt
readings.
• The mounting plates (B) and (C) are supported by four
corner pillars, (K). Side plates (H) are fitted; these perform
the multiple functions of increasing the rigidity of the
structure, excluding dirt, and preventing ambient light
from corrupting the infra-red beam measurements.
• In operation, the motor rotates at a speed up to 300 rpm,
determined hy the control electronics (see section 3.2). The
stirrer is turned via the spiral spring, which provides a
torque proportional to its angular extension. Thus the
relative angular displacement between disks (E) and (F)
depends directly on the viscosity of the fluid and rotation
rate (see section 2.3 theory). As described, parts (E) and
(F) are cut away over 180 degrees; this causes the beam to
be interrupted once per revolution. Calculation of the
mark/space ratio results in the angular displacement, whilst
the motor speed may be accurately determined from the
period. Figure 4 illustrates the mechanism operation with
liquids of different viscosities, and also shows the
corresponding expected photo-diode outputs.
• A serious problem occurred with the spiral spring.
Such a component is difficult to obtain commercially,
consequently one was wound from a strip of plate
brass approximately 30 cm long, 2 mm wide and 0.5
mm thick. Unfortunately the quality of the spring thus
produced was unsatisfactory: only about 3 turns were
possible and the spiral shape was difficult to muintain.
In addition it was impossible to keep the spring planar:
the result of this was that when mounted in the
mechanism, the spring scraped on disks (E) and (F)
(refer to figure 3). Undoubtedly the instrument's
measurement accuracy was seriously affected by the
additional friction, hysteresis and non-linearity of this
component. Nevertheless useful results were
obtalnable, as described in section 4, proving the
principle and justifying future pursuit of a suitable
spring.
 • Figure 4: Operation of the viscometer
mechanism. The diagrams on the left show
the relative orientations of the rotating parts
(E) and (F), those on the right show the type
of photodiode outputs that may be expected
from these configurations.
 .Operating software
• A ZX Spectrum computer running an assembler
application was used as a development tool, to edit and
compile the operating program prior to downloading into
the microprocessor control system's EEPROM. A complete
listing of the viscometer control software is presented in
appendix B.

• A modular programming approach was adopted, and a

library of subroutines for elementary functions developed
(section 3.3.1). These are called from subroutines which
perform statistical analysis, calculate the viscosity, control
the period between measurements, and log data (section
3.3.2). These in turn are called from a main control
program, under direct user control (section 3.3.3).
 :Function subroutines
• The collection of subroutines perform the
basic functions listed below [ref. 6 & 7]. A
5 byte floating point format is used,
consisting of a 32-hit fractional part, 8-hit
exponent part, and sign bit. The numbers so
represented have a range of +/- 3.4 x 10^38,
to a precision of one part in 4.3 x 10^9.
• 1-Clock/Timer: The 50Hz mains frequency
counter is used to drive a real-time clock/timer,
which may be displayed in either hours/minutes
or hours/minutes/seconds format, according on
the user's preference. The 50 Hz counter is 8-bit
so in order to retain the correct time, the clock
routine must be called at least every 5 seconds.
In fact it is called more often, whenever the
keyboard is scanned or readings taken, which in
practice accounts for most of the processor's
time.
• 2- Input routines: These scan the keyboard,
accept user input of floating point decimal
numbers, and convert to the normalised binary
floating point format adopted.
• 3-Print routine: This allows the program to
output a result to the display. The binary
floating point number is converted to
decimal, and leading zeros blanked.

• 4-Error handling: The user is informed of

any measurement or arithmetical errors that
have occurred. A list of the possible error
codes that may be generated is shown in
table I below.
• 5-Arithmetic functions: These operate on
numbers in normalised floating point format,
and perform the following operations:
addition, subtraction, multiplication,
reciprocal and division.

• 6-Read routines: These read the mark/space

ratio and period of rotation, of the viscometer
mechanism. If measurement of a viscosity
outside the possible range is attempted, an
appropriate error is indicated.
• 7-Reset: This routine monitors the 'RST' key; if it is
pressed for longer thah 1/2 a second a system reset is
pefformed. This is similar to switching the machine off
and on again, except that none of the results or user
defined parameters are erased, with the exception of
the time and measurement interval.
• 8-Regld, Regsv: These two routines load/save the
Z80's registers form/to the stack (upper part of the
system memory that is used as temporary storage space
by the processor). They are often called at the start and
finish of a subroutine, in order that the Z80's registers
are preserved by the routine.
 :Viscosity measurement subroutines
• The procedure for viscosity determination is shown in the flow
diagram, figure 6. First a useful measurement range is determined, by
starting the motor at its maximum rate and gradually reducing the
speed in steps until the displacement between the disks in the
mechanism falls below 170 degrees. The lower end of the range is
found by increasing the motor speed from zero until a displacement is
first detected. In order that transitional oscillations in the spring or
extreme damping have time to decay, five revolutions of the
mechanism are allowed to pass at each speed before reading the
angular displacement. Measurements near to the lower end of the
range could suffer low resolution and hence inaccuracy; therefore a
small amount is added here. Once these two limits have successfully
been set, the processor proceeds to take ten readings of displacement
angle at ten speeds equally spaced within the range. Again transitional
effects are allowed to pass, by now walting for ten revolutions before
reading, at each speed. A statistical analysis [ref. 8] performs a least
squares best fit on the data, to find the gradient of the graph of
displacement against speed (see section 2.3). This gradient is related
to that obtained from a previous calibration reading, and the viscosity
calculated.
• Having obtained the viscosity, it is then
checked to ensure that it lies within a user
specified range. If for instance if it becomes to
large, no further measurements are taken. This
useful function could also be used to sound an
alarm if the viscosity of the test fluid deviated
too greatly from a specified value. The
viscosities are logged in the system memory,
where there is space for up to six thousand
results. After the experiment, these may be
scanned by the operator.
 3RD
Relation Between Viscosity &
Temperature
 Dependence of viscosity on
temperature
• These experiments were intended to test the approximate
viscosity-temperature relation mentioned in section 2.4.2.
That is,
• v = A exp (Ev / k T(
• where v is the kinematic viscosity, k Boltzmann's constant,
T the temperature, and A and Ev constants. The
measurements were obtained using both the viscometer of
this project (hereafter referred to as the project
viscometer), and a Ferranti-Shirley cone-on-plate
viscometer. Therefore a useful comparison between the
two viscometers was also obtained.
• Two lubricants were tested: Dow Corning FS-
1265 10000 cst lubricant, and Dow Coming
DC200 1000 cst lubricant. These kinematic
viscosities are stated by the manufacturer,
however the temperature at which the viscosity is
specified is not mentioned. However the aim of
these experiments was not to determine absolute
viscosities, rather to investigate the degree of
temperature variation and correlation with an
existing commercial viscometer. Hence both
instruments were calibrated to read the stated
viscosity at room temperature as a reference point.
• For the project viscometer measurements, 50 cm3
of the test fluid was contained in a small beaker of
diameter 4 cm. This beaker was suspended in a
temperature controlled oil bath. The temperature
of the test fluid itself was additionally monitored
using a digital thermometer, with a thermocouple
immersed in the liquid.
• During the measurements ample time was allowed
for the temperature to reach a stable value, usually
slightly less than that of the oil bath due to heat
losses from the test fluid. Temperature control is
built in to the Ferranti-Shirley viscometer, which
pumps heated oil through the instrument to heat
the sample under investigation.
• Viscosity was measured at temperatures ranging from room
temperature to about a hundred degrees centigrade. Above this
temperature the oil bath becomes intolerably smelly. Numerical
results are presented in Appendix 0.
• Figure 12 shows in graphical form the variation with
temperature of the 10000 cst fluid. Calibration was performed
at 22.5C. The data from the Ferrauti-Shirley instrument
approximates the exponential curve extremely well, although
that from the project viscometer displays a large spread. This
was probably mainly due to the inadequacies of the spiral
spring. Error bars plotted on the project viscometer
measurements are for a 10% random variation. Temperature is
measurable to an accuracy less than half a degree, and the
Ferranti-Shirley instrument specifies a precision of under 3%.
Thus in the interests of clarity error bars have not been plotted
on these data points.
Figure 12: Viscosity/Temperature for the FS-1265
10000 cst fluid
• Figure 13 is a graph of viscosity
against temperature for the 1000
cst fluid. Again the Ferranti-
Shirley results appear more
accurate than those of the project
viscometer.
Figure 13: Viscosity / Temperature for the
.DC200 1000 cst fluid
• These results show that the exponential
viscosity-temperature relation is well
approximated within the measurement
range of the experiment. This is
particularly apparent for the 10000 cst
FS-1265 lubricant, which displays a
rapid decay of viscosity with rising
temperature.