EXPERIMENT NO.

FALLING SPHERE VISCOMETER

I. INTRODUCTION

Commercial Falling Sphere viscometers are non-available. One type of which is shown on the sketch.
The one available is not of the commercial type. This viscometer makes use of the principles in case of
flow around a small sphere.

For laminar flow vd/2 ≤ 1 in which d is the diameter of the sphere. The friction or the deformation drag
Fd of the sphere moving at a constant velocity V through a fluid of infinite extend is given by Stoke’s Law
with the following assumptions:

1. The particle must be a sphere.

2. The surface of the particle must be smooth.
3. The resistance to fall or drag force Fd is due to the viscosity of the fluid.
4. The terminal velocity must be constant.

------------------------------------------------------ (1)

A free body diagram of the sphere after it has acquired constant velocity or terminal velocity is shown
on the sketch where W is the weight of the sphere. F b is the buoyant force and Fd is the deformation drag.

---------------------------------------------------- (2)

or

---------------------------------------------- (3)

Solving for :

------------------------------------------------------- (4)

Equation (4) has to be corrected in actual practice because the extent of the fluid is not infinite and the
influence of boundary proximity on the sphere is large. The correction is usually affected by multiplying the
observed velocity of fall Vs by a certain constant “K” which is a function of d/Dm the diameter of the sphere
and medium ratio, such that

--------------------------------------------------------- (5)

where

------------------------------------------------ (6)

The equation for viscosity then becomes

------------------------------------------------------ (7)

for which the viscosity can be computed.

II. OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this experiment is to determine the viscosity of a certain fluid.

III. SKETCH OF APPARATUS

A. Viscometer – measures the viscosity and flow properties of fluids.

B. Hydrometer – an instrument for measuring the density of liquids.

C. Caliper – an instrument to determine the diameter of an object or equipment.

D. Steel balls – a set of small balls made out of steel that was dropped inside the fluid medium to help
determine the viscosity of the fluid by recording its velocity during its travel inside the
fluid.

E. Stopwatch – a device used to measure the time it takes for the steel ball to travel inside the fluid
medium at a certain distance.

F. Thermometer – a device used to measure the temperature of the fluid.

IV. LABORATORY PROCEDURE

TECHNICAL DATA:

Depth of liquid y = 1m

PROCEDURE

1. Determine the temperature and specific gravity of the liquid whose viscosity is desired.
2. Drop cautiously one of the spheres noting whether the sphere is guided correctly or is off-
center.
3. Determine the time required for the sphere to travel a certain distance.
4. Repeat the procedure for each sphere.

EXERCISE 1
DETERMINATION OF THE VISCOSITY OF A CERTAIN LIQUID

Column Unit Nom. Type Description

Heading
Depth of m y Measured The depth of the liquid is the distance traveled
liquid by the steel ball inside the reservoir. Acquired in
mm and converted to m.
Time s t Measured Time is defined as how long it takes for the steel
ball to travel a certain distance (Depth of liquid).
Acquired in seconds using stopwatch.
Velocity of m/s Vs Calculated Velocity was calculated using Vs = y/t. This
the fall denotes how fast the steel ball traveled a certain
distance.
Diameter of m d Measured Plays a vital role in determining the viscosity of
the steel ball the liquid given by equation (7). Acquired in mm
and converted to m.
Inner m Dm Measured Plays a vital role in determining the viscosity of
diameter of the liquid given by equation (7). Acquired in mm
the reservoir and converted to m.
Constant of k Calculated Corrects the calculated Vs by multiplying in this
proportionalit constant of proportionality given by equation
y (6).

Corrected The corrected value of the velocity of the fall

velocity of m/s V Calculated acquired using equation (5).
the fall
Viscosity of Pa – s µ Calculated The viscosity of the fluid was determined using
the Fluid equation (7).
V. RESULTS

Y t Vs d Dm V µ V
1 (m) (s) (m/s) (m) (m)
d/Dm K
(m/s) (Pa-s) (x10 -4
m2/s)

1 1 24.14 0.041 0.00299 0.09423 0.03173 1.076 0.044 0.738 5.857

2 1 10.12 0.099 0.00473 0.09423 0.0502 1.126 0.111 0.732 5.804

3 1 7.81 0.128 0.00551 0.09423 0.05847 1.149 0.147 0.750 5.946

4 1 5.42 0.185 0.00703 0.09423 0.0746 1.168 0.216 0.831 6.588

Y t Vs d Dm V µ V
2 (m) (s) (m/s) (m) (m)
d/Dm K
(m/s) (Pa-s) (x10 -4
m2/s)

1 1 5.44 0.184 6.99x10-3 0.09303 0.0751 1.1975 0.2203 0.8058 6.3886

2 1 7.16 0.140 5.57 x10-3 0.09303 0.0599 1.1529 0.1614 0.6984 5.5371

3 1 9.93 0.101 4.78 x10-3 0.09303 0.0514 1.1290 0.1140 0.7282 5.7734

4 1 23.26 0.043 2.96 x10-3 0.09303 0.03182 0.0463 0.0463 0.6876 5.4515

Y t Vs d Dm V µ V
3 (m) (s) (m/s) (m) (m)
d/Dm K
(m/s) (Pa-s) (x10 -4
m2/s)

1 1 5.09 1.387x10-3 0.00706 0.093 0.0759 2.888 4.006 x10-3 4.521 x10-3 0.03584

2 1 5.05 1.392 x10-3 0.00703 0.093 0.0756 2.887 4.019 x10-3 4.468 x10-3 0.03542

3 1 9.73 4.933 x10-3 0.00480 0.093 0.0516 2.818 0.014 5.979 x10-4 0.004693

4 1 9.64 4.959 x10-3 0.00478 0.093 0.0514 2.817 0.014 5.930 x10-4 4.701

Y t Vs d Dm V µ V
4 (m) (s) (m/s) (m) (m)
d/Dm K
(m/s) (Pa-s) (x10 -4
m2/s)

1 1 8.47 1.296 x10-3 0.00709 0.09271 0.076 2.898 0.003756 0.004863 0.03850

2 1 7.52 1.330 x10-4 0.00335 0.09271 0.060 2.849 0.002103 0.005322 0.04224

3 1 9.59 4.964 x10-4 0.00476 0.09271 0.051 2.825 0.001402 0.005372 0.04660

4 1 23.19 1.302 x10-3 0.00307 0.09271 0.033 2.775 0.003613 0.009172 0.07279
 Y t Vs d Dm V µ v
5 (m) (s) (m/s) (m) (m)
d/Dm K
(m/s) (Pa-s) (x10 -4
m2/s)

1 1 5.50 0.18182 0.00699 0.093 0.07516 1.19771 0.21777 0.79973 6.3471

2 1 7.53 0.13280 0.00556 0.093 0.05978 1.15261 0.15307 0.71985 5.7131

3 1 9.87 0.10132 0.00477 0.093 0.5129 1.12872 0.11436 0.70916 5.6283

4 1 23.07 0.04335 0.00299 0.093 0.03215 1.07757 0.04671 0.68222 5.4144

VI. SAMPLE COMPUTATION

Trial 1.

Given:

Y = 1m
t = 24.14s
d = 0.00299m
Dm = 0.09423m
Vs = 0.041m/s

Solution:
VII. CONCLUSION

After conducting the experiment, the team was able to gather sufficient data towards acquiring the
value of the viscosity of a certain liquid by means of using a variety of equations given at the start of this
report. With this, the team concludes that by acquiring the time alone for an object to travel at a certain
distance inside the liquid may be used to determine the velocity, coefficient of proportionality, and the
viscosity.

Moreover, the team may conclude that regardless of the weight of the object dropped inside the
medium, although they may vary in velocities, the viscosity will be, if not exact, almost the same as each
other’s acquired values.

VIII. APPLICATION TO ENGINEERING

In engineering, fluid properties such as viscosity plays a vital role in the industry. Engineers often
design devices that transport fluids, use fluids for lubrication, or operate in environments that contain
fluids, such as engines, printers and pacemakers. Thus, it is important for engineers to understand how
fluids behave under various conditions. Understanding fluid behavior can help engineers to select the best
fluid to operate in a device or to design devices that are able to efficiently and harmlessly operate in
environments that contain fluids.

IX. REFERENCE

https://www.labcompare.com/10-Featured-Articles/143121-Viscometers-The-Science-of-Measuring-
Fluid-Flow/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrometer

https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_surg_lesson03