Experiment 1:Non-Newtonian Fluid Foods

Objectives:
Viscosity of maple syrup and chocolate sauce were measured using a Brookfield viscometer at
various rotational speeds under different temperatures to determine if these fluids were of
Newtonian, pseudoplastic or dilatant nature.
Power-law relationship between shear stress and shear rate were determined for maple syrup and
chocolate sauce provided these fluids were non-Newtonian.
Introduction:
Fluids like water, air and ethanol are termed as Newtonian fluids. All gases are Newtonian fluids.
This means that a plot of shear stress against shear rate at a certain temperature of water would
yield a straight line with constant slope that is non-dependent of the shear rate. Fluids that do not
exhibit Newtonian behaviour are known as non-Newtonian. Examples of non-Newtonian fluids
includes shear thinning, shear thickening, Bingham Plastic and Casson-type Plastic. For shearthinning fluids, as the shear rate increases, the apparent viscosity decreases. Examples of shearthinning fluids are polymer melts such as molten polystyrene or polymer solutions such as
polyethylene oxide in water or some paints. Common food fluids that exhibit shear-thinning
behaviour are mustard, mayonnaise and peanut butter. For shear-thickening fluids, as the shear
rate increases, the apparent viscosity also increases. Examples of shear-thickening fluids are
starch suspensions and certain types of honey. Viscosity of a fluid is termed as a measure of
resistance to flow due to internal friction within the fluid. Viscosity, is defined by the ratio of
shear stress, over shear rate, dv/dy. In the case of a Newtonian fluid, the shear stress is directly
proportional to the shear rate, with dynamic viscosity, as the proportionality constant:

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 = (dv/dy)
The relationship between shear stress and shear rate can be described in the Hershel-Bulkley
model where K is the flow consistency coefficient and n the flow behaviour index:
= K (dv/dy) n + 0
If 0 is assumed to be zero, the Hershel-Bulkley model becomes the Power Law model where the
fluid is Newtonian if n=1, pseudoplastic if n<1 or dilatant if n>1.
The effect of temperature on the flow consistency coefficient, K of a non-Newtonian fluid can be
modelled with the Arrhenius equation:
K= K0e(Ea/RT)
Where K0 is the Arrhenius constant, Ea the activation energy, R the gas constant and T the
absolute temperature. K0 and Ea can be determined by plotting a graph of ln (K) against 1/T. In
this experiment, the viscosity of chocolate syrup and maple syrup were evaluated using the
Brookfield rotational viscometer at various rotational speeds under different temperatures.
Materials and Methods:
Mountain Valley brand maple syrup was poured into the temperature-controlled adaptor of a
Brookfield viscometer ensuring that the temperature-controlled adaptor is at least filled. This
is to ensure that the spindle would be sufficiently immersed to prevent spluttering of the test
liquid and to ensure accuracy. Temperature of water bath was adjusted to 25C. Spindle number
4 was selected and carefully attached to the viscometer shaft by turning spindle anticlockwise.
Temperature probe was inserted into the maple syrup and once temperature has reached 25C,
this test fluid was ready for analysis. Viscometer was levelled before spindle was immersed into
the maple syrup. Viscometer was switched on and spindle number 4 and 30 revolutions per

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minute (rpm) were selected as the spindle number and rotational speed respectively. The above
procedures were repeated on maple syrup and Hersheys brand chocolate syrup as shown in
Table 1.
[Table 1]: Measurement of chocolate sauce and maple syrup at various rotational speeds under
different temperatures using the Brookfield viscometer.
Type of Fluid:

Chocolate Syrup
25

Temperature (C):

Maple Syrup

35

45

100, 120, 150, 180

Speed (rpm):

25

35

45

30,50,80,100

50,80,100,120

Results:
[Table 2]: Tabulation of information on the rheology of maple syrup.
Temperature

Speed

Viscosity

Torque

(C)

(N)

()

(Tq)

Torque
(Tq)

ln

ln

Shear

Shear

Angular

Apparent

Stress

rate

Velocity

Viscosity

()

()

()

(/)

N.m2

1/s

rad/s

(Pa.s)

34.25
56.01
89.14
112.1
17.38
28.26
45.01
55.76
17.13
25.88
32.88
39.13

6.367
10.61
16.98
21.22
6.367
10.61
16.98
21.22
10.61
16.98
21.22
25.47

3.141
5.236
8.377
10.47
3.141
5.236
8.377
10.47
5.236
8.377
10.47
12.56

(x 10-5)
cP

25

35

45

30
50
80
100
30
50
80
100
50
80
100
120

54.8
53.7
53.5
53.8
27.8
27.1
27
26.8
16.4
15.5
15.8
15.6

27.4
44.8
71.3
89.7
13.9
22.6
36
44.6
13.7
20.7
26.3
31.3

1.845
3.018
4.803
6.043
0.9364
1.522
2.425
3.005
9.229
1.394
1.772
2.108

3.534
4.026
4.490
4.719
2.855
3.341
3.806
4.021
2.841
3.253
3.493
3.667

1.851
2.361
2.832
3.055
1.851
2.362
2.832
3.055
2.362
2.832
3.055
3.237

5.380
5.278
5.250
5.284
2.729
2.662
2.651
2.627
1.614
1.524
1.549
1.536

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[Table 3]: Tabulation of information on the rheology of chocolate syrup.

Temperature

Speed

Viscosity

Torque

(C)

(N)

()

(Tq)

Torque
(Tq)

ln

ln

Shear

Shear

Angular

Apparent

Stress

rate

Velocity

Viscosity

()

()

()

(/)

N.m2

1/s

rad/s

(Pa.s)

62.64
69.27
78.89
87.14
32.38
35.38
40.76
45.01
23.75
25.38
29.01
31.01

21.22
25.47
31.84
38.20
21.22
25.47
31.84
38.20
21.22
25.47
31.84
38.20

10.47
12.56
15.71
18.85
10.47
12.56
15.71
18.85
10.47
12.56
15.71
18.85

(x 10-5)
cP

25

100
120
150
180
100
120
150
180
100
120
150
180

35

45

30.1
27.7
25.2
23.3
15.5
14.2
13
12
11.4
10.1
9.28
8.26

50.1
55.4
63.1
69.7
25.9
28.3
32.6
36
19
20.3
23.2
24.8

3.375
3.732
4.251
4.696
1.744
1.906
2.196
2.425
1.280
1.367
1.563
1.671

4.137
4.237
4.368
4.467
3.477
3.566
3.708
3.807
3.17
3.234
3.367
3.434

3.055
3.237
3.461
3.642
3.055
3.237
3.461
3.642
3.055
3.237
3.461
3.642

2.951
2.719
2.478
2.281
1.525
1.389
1.280
1.178
1.119
0.9965
0.9111
0.8116

Sample calculation of Maple Syrup at 25C at 30 rpm:

According to the lab manual, the following information was given :
Radius of the viscometer inner cylinder, Ri = 0.001588 m
Radius of the outer cylinder, Ro = 0.01381 m
Length of the cylinder, L = 0.03396 m.
Taking temperature as 25C at spindle rotation speed, N at 30 rpm,
Angular velocity, =
=

xN

(Equation 1)

x 30

= 3.141 rad/s
The torque displayed was 27.4 % of the full scale 6.737 x 10-5 N.m.
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Hence, the actual torque = (27.4/100) x (6.737 x 10-5)

= 1.845 x 10-5 Nm
Shear stress, =

Tq
2R i2 L

1.845 105
2 (0.1588 10 2 m)(3.396 10 2 m)

(Equation 2)

= 34.25 Pa

= 34.25 N/m2
ln = 3.534 N/m2
Shear rate, =

2R o2
R o2 R i2

(Equation 3)

2(3.141 )( 0.01381 ) 2
= 6.367 s-1
2
2
(0.01381 ) (0.001588 ) )

ln = 1.851 s-1
Apparent viscosity =

(Equation 4)

=
= 5.380 Pa.s

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Apparent viscosity (Pa.s)

Maple Syrup
25C

6.00
5.00
4.00

35C

3.00
2.00

45C

1.00
0.00
0

10

15

20

25

30

Shear rate (1/s)

[Figure 1]: Plot of apparent viscosity versus shear rate for maple syrup at the various
temperatures.

Apparent viscosity (Pa.s)

Chocolate Syrup
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

25C
35C
45C

10

15

20
25
Shear rate (1/s)

30

35

40

45

[Figure 2]: Plot of apparent viscosity versus shear rate for chocolate syrup at the various
temperatures.

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ln (N.m2)

Maple Syrup
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

25C
35C

y = 0.9837x + 1.7085
R = 0.9999

45C
Linear
(25C)
Linear
(35C)
Linear
(45C)

y = 0.9706x + 1.0552
R = 0.9999
y = 0.9458x + 0.5977
R = 0.9982

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

ln (1/s)
[Figure 3]: Plot of ln (Shear stress) versus ln (Shear rate) for maple syrup at the various
temperatures.

Chocolate Syrup
5

y = 0.5644x + 2.412
R = 0.999

4.5

y = 0.5695x + 1.732
R = 0.997

ln (N.m2)

4
3.5

y = 0.4715x + 1.721
R = 0.989

3
2.5
2

25C
35C

1.5

45C

1
0.5
0
3

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

ln (1/s)

3.5

3.6

3.7

Linear
(25C)
Linear
(35C)
Linear
(45C)

[Figure 4]: Plot of ln (Shear stress) versus ln (Shear rate) for chocolate syrup at the various
temperatures.

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Sample calculation for estimation of power law parameters:

= K n + 0 where 0 is yield stress.

(Equation 5)

In this practical, it was assumed that there was no yield stress, hence 0 is 0. Therefore as shown
in Equation 6 below, 0 was omitted.
= K n

(Equation 6)

By taking the natural logarithm of Equation 6, a straight line equation of a graph can be obtained
as shown in Equation 7.
ln = n ln + ln K

(Equation 7)

General linear equation: y = mx + c

Hence in this case, n is the gradient or m of the trendline.
ln K is the y - intercept or c of the trendline.
For maple syrup at 25C,
n was 0.9837.
ln K was 1.7085.
Therefore K is e1.7085 = 5.521

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[Table 4]: Power law parameters for maple syrup based on Figure 3.
Temperature (C)

K
(Pa.sn)

25

0.9837

5.521

35

0.9706

2.872

45

0.9458

1.817

[Table 5]: Power law parameters for chocolate syrup based on Figure 4.
Temperature (C)

K
(Pa.sn)

25

0.5644

11.16

35

0.5695

5.654

45

0.4715

5.594

[Table 6]: ln K and 1/T at the various temperatures for chocolate syrup and maple syrup.
Fluid

ln K

Temperature (K)

1/T
(K-1)

Maple Syrup

1.708
1.055
0.5977
2.412
1.732
1.721

298
308
318
298
308
318

0.003355
0.003246
0.003144
0.003355
0.003246
0.003144

Chocolate Syrup

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3.0

y = 3305.4x - 8.7837
R = 0.7773

2.5

ln K

2.0

y = 5271.4x - 16.006
R = 0.9932

1.5

Maple Syrup
1.0

Chocolate
Syrup

0.5

0.0
0.0031

0.00315

0.0032

0.00325

1/T

0.0033

0.00335

0.0034

(K-1)

[Figure 5]: Graph of ln K versus 1/T.

Sample calculation of Ea and ln Ko for maple syrup.
K= K0e(Ea/RT)

(Equation 8)

By taking the natural logarithm of Equation 8, a straight line equation of a graph can be obtained
as shown in Equation 9.
Ea
ln K = ln Ko + RT
Ea
ln K = R

1

T + ln Ko

(Equation 9)

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By plotting ln K versus 1/T, a straight line plot is obtained. The gradient of the plot provides the
value of

Ea
and the y-intercept provides the value of ln Ko. The value of Ko can then be
R

determined by the exponential form of ln K.

From the gradient of the graph in Fig. 3, Ea/R = 5271
Since gas constant, R= 8.314 J/ (mol.K), Ea = 5271 x 8.314 = 43823 J/mol or 43.283 kJ/mol
~ 43.28 kJ/mol
From the y-intercept of the graph, ln K0 = -16, K0 = e-16= 1.125 x 10-7
[Table 7]: Ea and ln Ko for maple syrup and chocolate syrup.
Fluid

Ea (J)

ln Ko

Maple Syrup

43823

1.125 x 10-7

Chocolate Syrup

27477

1.533 x 10-4

Discussion:
With reference to Figure 1., the graph obtained is rather linear. Literature values of apparent
viscosities of maple syrup were from 0.035 to 0.651 Pa.s for the five different grades of maple
syrups and temperatures between 5C to 55C as reported by Ngadi and Yu (2004). Five grades
of Canadian maple syrup were Canada No. 1 - Very Clear; Canada No. 1 Clear; Canada No. 1
Medium; Canada No. 2 - Amber and Canada No. 3 - Dark. As shown in Table 2, none of the
experimental apparent viscosities obtained for temperatures of 25C, 35C and 45C fell into the
literature range reported. The apparent viscosity of maple syrup at 25C has been reported as

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0.1635 Pa.s (Johnson 1997). However the experimental apparent viscosities obtained for maple
syrup at 25C for the various speeds were between 5.25 to 5.38 Pa.s.
The plot of ln shear stress against ln shear rate for maple syrup produced a straight line which is
typical of Newtonian fluids where shear rate increases as shear stress increases. With reference
to Table 4, n values obtained were close to 1. These values were similar to what was reported in
literature as shown below in Table 8. For Newtonian fluids, n = 1. Experimental K values shown
in Table 4 were very far off from the literature values shown in Table 8.
Activation energies obtained for various grades of maple syrup were 43.97 kJ/mol
44.86 kJ/mol (Ngadi and Yu, 2004). The activation energy obtained for the maple syrup used in
this practical was 43.28 kJ/mol.
Reasons for these discrepancies between experimental and literature values could be due to the
grade of maple syrup used being different. Furthermore, the maple syrup used is not exactly
maple syrup. It is a maple-flavoured syrup, comprising mostly of glucose, liquid sugar and
honey, with no genuine maple syrup included. Hence the grade of maple syrup used is irrelevant.
Instead a better comparison could be made if genuine maple syrup was used.

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[Table 8]: The n values of the 5 grades of maple syrup studied by Ngadi and Yu in 2004.

When apparent viscosity is plotted against shear rate for a shear thinning fluid, the graph
obtained would be concave in shape as shown in Figure 6. For chocolate syrup, the apparent
viscosity decreases as shear rate increased, producing a concave curve similar to Figure 6.

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[Figure 6]: A concave curve is obtained when apparent viscosity is plotted against shear
rate shear thinning fluids.
Hence chocolate syrup seemed to exhibit shear thinning fluid behaviour. According to Ramli and
Foo, a study conducted in 2011 on various chocolate syrups indicated that chocolate syrup does
indeed exhibit shear thinning behaviour, with n values less than 1. The plot of ln shear stress
against ln shear rate for chocolate syrup produced a straight line which is typical of Newtonian
fluids where shear rate increases as shear stress increases. The n values obtained as shown in
Table 5 were less than 1. For pseudoplastic fluids, n < 1. Hence it is possible that the chocolate
syrup used was a pseudoplastic fluid. The apparent viscosity of Hersheys chocolate syrup
according to literature was 0.6734 0.027 Pa.s at 25C (Ramli and Foo, 2011). However none of
the apparent viscosities obtained at 25C as shown in Table 3 fell within the range as given by
literature.

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Literature value for K at 25C for chocolate syrup; is less than 10 Pa.s (Ramli and Foo, 2011).
However the experimental K value obtained at 25C as shown in Table 5 was more than 10 Pa.s.
The experimental activation energy obtained for the chocolate syrup used in this practical was
27.47 kJ/mol. No literature value could be obtained with respect to the activation energy of
chocolate syrup.
Conclusion:
Only experimental and literature n values could be compared accurately as there were little
differences between the two. Both experimental and literature n values seem to strongly suggest
that maple syrup is of Newtonian nature, as n value was close to unity; and chocolate syrup is of
pseudoplastic nature.
References:
Ngadi, M. O. and Yu, L. J. Rheological Properties of Canadian Maple Syrup. Canadian Biosys
Eng. 2004, 46, 315-318
Ramli N. and S. Y. Foo. Effect of Super Olein and Sunflower Oil on the Rheological Properties
of Chocolate Syrup. Sains Malaysiana. 2011, 40, 359-367

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