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b ^ FACTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Viscosity
i\/leasurement

Department Editor: Scott Jenkins


Fluid behavior
TABLE 1. VISCOSITIES OF COMMON
Many fluids, like water or
MATERIALS
gasoline, exhibit Newtonian
Temperature Viscosity
Material name
behavior, which is to say that their
(CP)
CC)
viscosity remains constant with
1.1
20
Ethanol
varying shear rates. Viscosity of a
1.79
0
Newtonian fluid depends only on
Water
temperature and pressure, but not
1.0
20
Water
on the forces acting on the mate100
0.28
Water
rial. For Newtonian fluids, plotting
24.2
25
shear stress versus shear rate (a
Sulfuric acid
rheogram) yields a straight line
-450
Motor oii (SAE 30) 20
that passes through the origin. The
3-4
37
Blood
slope is equal to the viscosity.
1,380
25
Corn syrup
However, many materials in
the CPI behave in non-Newtonian
-3
20
Milk
ways, so that the rate of shear is
16.1
25
Ethylene
glycoi
not linearly proportional to the
0.30
20
Acetone
corresponding stress. For many
VISCOSITY FRAMEWORK
applications in the CPI, expres81
20
Olive oii
sions of viscosity as a single value
Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's internal
20
10
Honey
fail to capture the full picture
friction. Caused by intermolecular at1,420
Glycerin
20
of the many factors that affect
traction, viscosity can be thought of as
viscosity. Non-Newtonian viscosity
resistance to flow. This friction becomes
-250,000
20
Peonut butter
behavior include the following:
apparent when a layer of fluid is made to
0.019
18
Air
move in relation to another layer. More
Pseudoplasticity (shear-thinning)
10'-10^1
20
Giass
friction requires more force to effect this
occurs when a fluid's viscosity
movement, called shear. Shearing occurs
decreases with increasing shear
when fluids undergo physical moverate. Many emulsions, polymer melts
sure the consistency of results, it is critical
ment or distribution, such as in pouring,
that the temperature be closely defined
and solutions, paints, blood and some
spreading, spraying and mixing.
w h e n making viscosity measurements.
solid suspensions exhibit this property
Thixotropy \s a situation where a fluid's
Rheometers are related, but relatively
more complex, instruments that function
Flow of. layers
viscosity decreases over time under
across a very w i d e range of shear rates,
Isaac Newton defined viscosity by considconstant shear stress. Clay suspensions
enabling the simulation of real processes
ering the model represented in Figure 1.
used as drilling muds, mayonnaise and
that occur over vastly different timescales,
Two parallel planes of fluid of equal area
some paints and inks behave this way
A are separated by a distance dx and are Rheopectic behavior is the less-common such as in sedimentation a n d s p r a y i n g .
moving in the same direction at different
opposite of thixotropy shear stress
Yield s t r e s s
velocities V and V2.
increases at constant shear rate. A gypFor many CPI applications, yield stress
sum suspension in water is an example
is an important parameter to measure.
Di/otonf (shear-thickening) fluids show
Yield stress is the force required to cause
increasing viscosity with increasing
a material to begin flowing. For example,
shear rate. Dilatant behavior is obyield stress represents the force that must be
served in starch suspensions in water,
overcome when a pump is switched on. The
quicksand and in some high molecularstartup torque required for a pump must be
weight polymers used in drilling muds
calculated to ensure proper sizing.

Mi

leasurement of fluids' viscosity in


I the chemical process industries
(CPI) can represent a useful
"product dimension" for manufacturers.
Understanding a material's flow characteristics is valuable in predicting several
parameters relevant to many CPI processes, including pumpability, pourability,
performance in a dipping or coating
operation, ease of handling or processing. The relationship between rheology
(study of the flow of matter) and other
properties often makes viscosity measurement a sensitive and convenient method
for detecting changes in other product
parameters, such as density, stability,
solids content or molecular weight.

VISCOSITY MEASUREMENT
Newton assumed that the force required
to maintain this difference in speed
was proportional to the difference in
speed through the liquid, or the velocity
gradient. The velocity gradient, dv/dx,
represents the change in speed at which
the layers move with respect to each
other. It describes the shearing the liquid
experiences, and'is thus called shear rate
[ / ] . Its units are reciprocal seconds (s"').
The term F/A indicates the force per
unit area required to produce the shearing action (dynes/cm2).
Viscosity is the ratio of shear stress to
shear rate.

w h e n testing materials that flow, it is


important to think about how the material
wiil be processed and handled when in
use. Analytical procedures for simulating
the shearing action with an instrument is
the key to predicting flow behavior.
Rotational viscometers are a common
tool, wherein a spindle with a defined
geometry is inserted into the fluid to be
measured. The spindle rotates at various
fixed speeds, shearing the material at constant shear rates. The viscometer measures
the torque resistance experienced by the
spindle at different rotational speeds.
As temperatures increase, most materials exhibit a decrease in viscosity. To en-

Controlled stress rheometers are the tools


of choice in measuring yield stress. The
method is to run a "shear ramp," where
increasing torque is applied to the spindle
until rotation of the instrument is observed.
Such a test con yield a numerical value
that con be used by process engineers to
determine yield stress of the material. This
information can, in turn, be used in pump
sizing calculations for stortup torque a n d
full flow conditions.
References
1. Brookfield engineering educational website,
www.brookfieldengineeri ng.com/education,
2010.
2. McGregor, Robert G., Viscosity: The basics,
Chem. Eng., August 2009, pp. 34-39.
3. "Perry's Chemical Engineering Handbook," 7th
ed. McGraw Hill, 1997.

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