Measuring Interfacial Tension

between Fluids Using Pendant

Drop Method

By:
F.X. Arnold Giovanni H. 1
(13112029)
Presentation Outline
Introduction
Fundamental Theories

Research Method

Results and Analysis

Conclusion and Recommendation

2
 Motivation
Objectives of Study
Scope of Study
Methodology
INTRODUCTION 3
 Motivation

Emerging micro and Understanding the

nano technologies phenomena in the
with many benefits micro scale is
and applications essential

Measuring surface
Surface/interfacial
or interfacial
tension dominates
tension becomes
in micro scale
important
4
Picture References:
Patrick Tabeling, Introduction to Microfluidics
 Objectives of Study
To determine the best method of measuring interfacial or
surface tension using readily available apparatuses
To calibrate the measurements done in this study with
the accepted value and determine the correction factor
To determine the interfacial tension of some commonly
used liquids: Pertamax and Pertamina Dex

5
 Scope of Study
This study uses the pendant drop method to measure
interfacial tension
The method used is the curve fitting method by
numerically solving the Young-Laplace equation
The validity of the method used is determined by
comparing the measured interfacial tension with the
accepted value from literature

6
 Methodology

Literature Experiment
review preparation

Analysis and
Experiment
conclusion
7
 Surface and Interfacial Tension
Interfacial Tension Measurement
The Pendant Drop Method

FUNDAMENTAL THEORIES 8
 Surface Tension

Caused by force
imbalance between inner
and surface molecules
Residual force at the
surface creates tension ->
surface tension
Usually defined as the
work or energy needed to
increase a unit of surface
area (J/m2 or mN/m) 9
Interfacial Tension
Occurs at the interface
between fluids (>1 fluid)
It is the balance between
cohesive and adhesive force
Defined as the work needed
to increase the surface area
between two fluids
Contributes in:
Soap/detergent
Drug making processes
Enhanced oil recovery
(at least 0.03 mN/m)
Surface tension of a liquid is
assumed to be the same as
the interfacial tension 10
between the liquid and
ambient air
 Interfacial Tension Measurement
Method
Accuracy
(mN/m)
Suitability
for
surfactant
Suitability
for two-
liquid
Suitability
for viscous
liquids
Suitability
for melted
metals
Commercial
availability
solutions systems

Wilhelmy Not
~ 0.1 Limited Good Very good Yes
plate recommended
Pendant ~drop
Du Noy
0.1
method
Limited
is used in
Reduced Not this study
Not because:
Yes
ring accuracy recommended recommended

Suitable in many situations

Maximum
Not
bubble 0.1 0.3 Very good Very good Yes Yes
Reportedly has high accuracy, especially in liquid-
pressure
recommended

liquid system
Very good,
Simple and does not need complex
Capillary
rise
<< 0.1
Not
Very good
Not
recommended apparatuses
experimentally
recommended
difficult
Not

Not
Drop volume 0.1 0.2 Limited Good Yes Yes
recommended

Pendant
~ 0.1 Very good Very good
Not
Yes Yes
11
drop recommended

Sessile drop ~ 0.1 Good Very good Very good Yes Not
The Pendant Drop Method
The equation that describes the shape of the
drop the Young-Laplace equation:

where

Therefore:

At droplet apex, . Hence and since , then:

12
The Pendant Drop Method
In dimensionless form,

Defining as the arc length measured from drop apex

then:

13
The Pendant Drop Method
The equation can be manipulated to give a set
of first order differential equations that are to
be solved simultaneously to give the drop
shape:

With boundary condition:

14
 Fluid Density measurement
Image Acquisition
Cropping and Contrast Adjustment
Edge Detection
Interfacial Tension Calculation

RESEARCH METHOD 15
Fluid Density Measurement
To determine if the liquid is comparable to the literature

Calculated by measuring mass at several different volume

and doing linear regression.

Mass is measured using OHAUS SP202 balance.

Readability 0.01g, linearity 0.01g
Volume is determined using graduated cylinder. Accuracy
, however reading error around caused by difficulties in
16
determining the fluid meniscus.
17
Image Acquisition

18
Camera and Optics

Sony Alpha
Full model name
DSLR-A100
Sensor type CCD
Effective
10.2
megapixels
Quantaray
Lens 50mm F2.8
MACRO

F number F2.8
19
Shutter speed 1/80 sec
Syringe and Needle
Terumo hypodermic needle
Size:
21G (0.8mm)
22G (0.7mm)
23G (0.65mm)
27G (0.4mm)
The needle tip is cut at Bandung
Polytechnic of Manufacture by
CNC wire-cut machine

20
Apparatus Description
Light Source White LED light
Diffuser White HVS paper
Bimoli spesial palm olein
Tropical palm olein
Demineralized water
Fluids
Pietro Coricelli olive oil
Pertamax
Pertamina Dex

21
 Image Acquisition Procedure
Prepare the fluids needed for the experiment. Fill the
syringe with the heavier fluid and the glass container
with the lighter fluid

Place all tools according to the layout

Turn on the light source used to illuminate the drop and

turn off the room light.

Deliver a drop at the tip of the needle manually. Try to

get the biggest drop that is possible.

Set the camera position and focus so a good image of 22

drop profile can be acquired.
 Cropping and Contrast Adjustment

Contrast
Cropping
Adjustment

Captured Image Cropped Image Edited Image

The cropping is done with Windows image viewer.

The contrast adjustment is done with GIMP2 image editing software
23
 Edge Detection

Original Image Cleaned Image Outline over Original

Edge Detected Image
Image

Extract Profile and Overlaying 24

Canny Edge Detection
The edge are detected. In this case,
edge are described as the local
maxima of the gradient of the image.
Clean the Image
The noise are removed and the
area inside the detected edge is
turned into white color.
The location of the perimeter are extracted
as x and y coordinate and then overlaid
above the original image to visually check
the quality of the edge detection.
Interfacial Tension Calculation

25
 Fluid Density Measurement
Interfacial Tension Measurement
Error Analysis
Correction Factor
Bond Number Effect on Measurement
Pertamax and Pertamina Dex surface tension measurement

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS 26

 Fluid Density Measurement
Discrepancy
Literature
Measured Literature
Temperature
Fluid Density Value
kg/m3 % Reference
(kg/m )
3
(kg/m )
3
(C)

Bimoli
0 0.0% 15
Spesial
Tropical 10 1.1% 15

Demineralize
-17 -1.7% 25
d Water
Pietro
-22 -2.4% 25
Coricelli
27
 Surface/Interfacial Tension Measurement
Worthin
Literatu Discrep Bond Worthin
Fluid 1 Fluid 2 Needle Size Measured Discrep Bond gton
Fluid 1 Fluid 2 Needle Size re ancy (%) Number gton
(mN/m) ancy (%) Number Number
(mN/m) Number
Demine 27G -68 0.17 0.69
Demine Bimoli 27G -68 0.17 0.69
Satisfactory
ralized Bimoli results
22Gfor surface tension measurement
107 0.11 0.51
ralized Spesial 22G 107 0.11 0.51
Water Spesial
Correction factor
21G can be used to improve accuracy,
-27 needs
0.18to be 0.61
Water 21G -27 0.18 0.61
27G -8 0.17 0.72
Demine
calibrated 27G -8 0.17 0.72
Demine 23G -3 0.22 0.75
PoorAirresults for interfacial
ralized 23G tension measurement -3 0.22 0.75
ralized Air 22G -9 0.23 0.72
Water 22G by similar density of demineralized
-9 0.23 and palm
0.72
Water Might be caused 21G -7
water
0.24 0.72
21G -7 0.24 0.72
olein 23G -4 0.27 0.80
Olive oil Air 23G 33 -4 0.27 0.80
Olive oil Air 21G 33 -11 0.31 0.79
21G -11 0.31 0.79
23G -4 0.27 0.81
Tropical Air 23G 33.2 -4 0.27 0.81
Tropical Air 21G 33.2 -14 0.30 0.79
21G -14 0.30 0.79 28
Bimoli 23G -7 0.27 0.82
Bimoli Air 23G 33.2 -7 0.27 0.82
Spesial Air 21G 33.2 -18 0.30 0.74
Spesial 21G -18 0.30 0.74
 Uncertainty Analysis

Uncertainty in measurement is more important.

Camera resolution and lens magnification is
important.
However in this study is 10 times larger than .
Hence, uncertainty in can be neglected.

29
 Correction Factor
0.98
0.97 f(x) = 0x + 0.93
0.96
0.95
/ 0.94
0.93
0.92
0.91
20 30 40 50 60 70 80

30
 Bond Number Effect on the Measurement
21 G 22G 23G 27G Literature

7 4 .00

7 2 .00

7 0.00

6 8.00

6 6 .00

6 4 .00
(mN/m)

6 2 .00

6 0.00

58.00

56 .00

54 .00
0.1 0 0.1 5 0.20 0.2 5 0.3 0
31
Bo

Demineralized water surface tension

 21 G 23G Liter atur e

33

32

31

30
(mN/m)

29

28

27
0.2 0.22 0.2 4 0.2 6 0.2 8 0.3 0.3 2 0.3 4 0.3 6 0.3 8 0.4

Bo

32
Olive oil surface tension
 21 G 23G Literature

34

33

32

31

30

(mN/m)
29

28

27

26

25
0.2 0.22 0.2 4 0.26 0.2 8 0.3 0.3 2 0.3 4 0.3 6 0.3 8 0.4

Bo

Tropical palm olein surface tension 33

Bond Number Effect on the Measurement

With higher Bond number the measured surface tension

become less spread.
Bond
Lowernumber can be used
Bond number to judge
=> less the measurements
sensitivity => less precise
precision
To increase Bond number => bigger droplet size =>
bigger needle
However still difficult if the density difference is
small
In this study the Bond number is usually 0.2 therefore
the measurement is considered not precise, bigger drop
is needed. 34
 Needle Size Effect on Measurement
DMWater-Bim oli DMWater-Air Oliv e-Air Tropical-Air Bim oli-Air

Increasing needle size -> higher Bond number ->

0.3 5

0.3 sensitivity increases

Measurement made with bigger needle should be more
0.2 5

precise.
0.2

Bo A study by Saad recommends using needle with 4 5

0.1 5
mm diameter for fluid with surface tension around 38
0.1
mN/m.
The needle used in this study is too small and
0.05

0
0.3 5
measurement
0.4 0.45
with
0.5
bigger
0.55
needle
0.6
is needed
0.6 5 0.7 0.7 5 0.8 0.85

Needle Outer Diameter (mm)

35
 Worthington Number Effect on Measurement

21 G 22G 23G 27G Literature

7 4 .00

7 2 .00

7 0.00

6 8.00

6 6 .00

(mN/m) 6 4 .00

6 2 .00

6 0.00

58.00

56 .00

54 .00
0.50 0.55 0.6 0 0.65 0.7 0 0.7 5 0.80 0.85 0.9 0 36
Bo

Demineralized water surface tension

 21 G 23G Literature

34

33

32
21 G 23G Literatu re
34
31
33
32
30 31
(mN/m) 30
29 (mN/m) 2 9
28
27
28
26
25
27 0.7 0.7 2 0.7 4 0.7 6 0.7 8 0.8 0.82 0.84 0.86 0.88 0.9

Wo
26

25
0.7 0.7 2 0.7 4 0.7 6 0.7 8 0.8 0.82 0.84 0.86 0.88 0.9

Wo

37
Olive oil surface tension
 23G Literature

34

33

The effect of Worthington number is not clearly visible

32

Can not be used to indicate measurement accuracy or

31
(mN/m)

precision
30
Might be because the range of Worthington number in

29 this study is small therefore the effect can not be seen.

28
0.2 0.22 0.2 4 0.26 0.2 8 0.3 0.3 2 0.3 4 0.3 6 0.3 8 0.4

Bo

Tropical palm olein surface tension 38

 Pertamax and Pertamina Dex Surface Tension

Worthingt
Needle Measured Calibrated Bond
Fluid 1 Fluid 2 on
Used (mN/m) (mN/m) Number
Number

Pertamax Air 23G 17.7 0.7 0.29 0.77

Pertamina
Air 23G 23.7 0.4 0.29 0.80
Dex

Surface tension determines the droplet formation during injection

Lower surface tension means faster droplet formation leading to better
atomization and combustion
A study by Thangaraja et al.: Surface tension of several biodiesel is around 26
30 mN/m in room temperature. Fossil diesel fuel is supposed to have lower
surface tension 39
Therefore the value here seems reasonable
 Density Effect on Surface Tension
80

70
Surface tension
increases with
60
f(x) = 0 x^4.53
R = 0.93
increasing density
50
Can be estimated by:
40
(mN/m)

30 A study by Macleod
20
predicts the surface
tension of a liquid to
10
be:
0
7 00 7 50 800 850 9 00 9 50 1 000 1 050

(kg/m3)

Density Density
Fluid (mN/m) Fluid Density (mN/m) C
(kg/m3) Fluid (g/cm33)
(g/cm )
DM Water DM
0.997 72.2 73.1
DM
Water
0.997 72.2 73.1
Tropical Water
Tropical 0.87 33.5 58.5
Tropical 0.87 33.5 58.5
Bimoli 0.87 33.2 57.9
Bimoli Bimoli
Olive
0.87
0.89
33.2
32.9
57.9
52.4
40
Olive 0.89 32.9 52.4
Olive Pertamax
Pertamax 0.743
0.743 18.9
18.9 61.9
61.9
Pertamin
Pertamax 0.84 25.2 50.6
a dex
 Image Processing
Contrast Edge Noise
Cropping
Adjustment Detection Removal
Cropping is useful to increase the processing speed by eliminating
unneeded information
Contrast adjustment is important to separate the needle and the drop
with the background, making edge detection easier
Noise removal is needed to make the extracted profile accurate

Bucket filling 41
 Conclusion
Recommendation

CONCLUSION AND 42

RECOMMENDATION
 Conclusion
The apparatuses and method described in this study can be
used to measure surface tension with good results. However,
it is not recommended to measure interfacial tension
between fluids with similar density
The correction factor in the current experiment has been
determined, however more data is needed to increase the
accuracy
Surface tension of Pertamax and Pertamina Dex have been
measured. The results are 18.9 and 25.2 mN/m, respectively.
43
 Recommendation
Use more accurate instruments to measure mass and
volume
Use bigger size needle to obtain bigger drop profile

Conduct real time measurement

Use a blunt ended needle supplied by factory

Use more variation of liquid

44