PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (LABORATORY)

CH116L/B2
1st Quarter S.Y. 2019-2020

September 29, 2019 1|Page

 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (LABORATORY)
CH116L/B2
1st Quarter S.Y. 2019-2020

Introduction
Viscosity is a property of fluids wherein it is defined as the resistance of any certain liquid
substance to flow. It is the ratio of the liquid’s shearing stress to its velocity gradient. It is
measured for various purposes in different fields such as in food processing industries, cosmetic
and pharmaceutical needs, petrochemical industries, and in designing hydrodynamic systems.
Several instruments can also be used to measure this property, however for this experiment, the
Brookfield viscometer was used.

The Brookfield viscometer measures the viscosity of fluids by their given shear rates. This
is done by using a rotating sensing tool in the form of a spindle which is submerged into the fluid.
The measurement would vary depending on the size of the spindle and its rotational speed. As
both variables are increased, the fluid’s resistance would also increase. In order to acquire
accurate results, the measurement of the viscosity is done under laminar flow conditions and not
under turbulent conditions. The results are then reported in centipoise units (cP). This
experiment is done in order to demonstrate the different rheological properties of fluids which
can be measured by a viscometer. These properties are the Newtonian and Non-Newtonian
properties of fluids. For Newtonian fluids, the viscosity would remain the same even when
exposed to different shear rates. Meanwhile, for Non-Newtonian fluids, the viscosity would vary
depending on the shear rate. The solutions used in this experiment were glycol, butanol, ethanol
and water. Their percent viscosity was measured through the viscometer. These solutions have
varying properties because of their composition.

Objectives
At the end of the laboratory period, the students should be able:
• To utilize the different functionalities of the Brookfield viscometer
• To measure the percent viscosity of the different given solutions
• To distinguish the difference between Newtonian and Non-Newtonian fluids
• To determine the relationship of the spindle’s size and rotational speed to the fluid’s
viscosity

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 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (LABORATORY)
CH116L/B2
1st Quarter S.Y. 2019-2020

Methodology

In this experiment, the group utilized the Brookfield Viscometer to determine the viscosity
of the given samples and to find the spindle that matches the sample. The samples that were
tasked to the group were ethanol, water, glycol, and butanol and record their viscosity at 10, 20,
50, and 100 rpm for each of the 4 samples. The procedure of this experiment is as follows.

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 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (LABORATORY)
CH116L/B2
1st Quarter S.Y. 2019-2020

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:

WATER SAMPLE

SPINDLE 1
10 RPM 20 RPM 50 RPM 100 RPM
% cP % cP % cP % cP
0.4 1.50 0.6 1.12 1.2 0.90 5.0 1.87
0.7 1.87 0.8 1.50 1.6 0.67 5.1 1.91
0.9 3.57 1.6 1.25 1.7 1.12 5.2 1.98

SPINDLE 2
10 RPM 20 RPM 50 RPM 100 RPM
% cP % cP % cP % cP
0.2 0.75 0.1 0.19 0.1 0.07 0.7 0.20
0.3 1.12 0.2 0.37 0.4 0.30 0.8 0.30
0.4 1.50 0.3 0.56 0.5 0.37 0.9 0.34

SPINDLE 3
10 RPM 20 RPM 50 RPM 100 RPM
% cP % cP % cP % cP
0.1 0.75 0.1 0.19 0.1 0.07 0.1 0.04
0.2 1.12 0.2 0.37 0.2 0.15 0.2 0.07
0.4 1.50 0.3 0.56 0.3 0.22 0.3 0.11

SPINDLE 4
10 RPM 20 RPM 50 RPM 100 RPM
% cP % cP % cP % cP
0.0 0.00 0.0 0.00 - - - -
0.1 0.37 0.1 0.19 - - - -
0.2 0.75 0.2 0.37 - - - -

TABLE 2. GYLCOL SAMPLE

SPINDLE 1
10 RPM 20 RPM 50 RPM 100 RPM
% cP % cP % cP % cP
2.3 8.62 3.8 7.12 11.8 8.77 27.5 10.3
2.5 9.37 4.0 7.55 12.0 9.00 28.4 10.6
2.7 10.5 5.0 8.19 12.9 9.45 28.5 10.7

BUTANOL SAMPLE

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 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (LABORATORY)
CH116L/B2
1st Quarter S.Y. 2019-2020

SPINDLE 1
10 RPM 20 RPM 50 RPM 100 RPM
% cP % cP % cP % cP
-0.3 - -0.6 - -0.9 - 3.1 1.16
-0.4 - -0.7 - -1.0 - 3.7 1.39
-0.5 - -0.8 - -1.1 - 4.2 1.56

SPINDLE 2
10 RPM 20 RPM 50 RPM 100 RPM
% cP % cP % cP % cP
0.1 0.37 0.1 0.19 0.5 0.22 1.2 0.45
0.3 1.12 0.3 0.56 0.6 0.37 1.3 0.49
0.6 2.25 0.7 1.12 1.1 1.12 1.9 0.75

SPINDLE 3
10 RPM 20 RPM 50 RPM 100 RPM
% cP % cP % cP % cP
0.1 0.37 0.0 0.00 0.1 0.07 -0.1 -
0.2 0.75 0.1 0.19 0.2 0.15 0.0 0.00
0.3 1.12 0.2 0.37 0.3 0.22 0.1 0.04

TABLE 4. ETHANOL SAMPLE

SPINDLE 1
10 RPM 20 RPM 50 RPM 100 RPM
% cP % cP % cP % cP
0.1 0.37 0.2 0.37 - - - -
0.2 0.75 0.5 0.94 - - - -
0.7 2.26 0.6 1.12 - - - -

SPINDLE 2
10 RPM 20 RPM 50 RPM 100 RPM
% cP % cP % cP % cP
0.1 0.15 - - - - - -
0.2 0.25 - - - - - -
0.5 0.31 - - - - - -

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 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (LABORATORY)
CH116L/B2
1st Quarter S.Y. 2019-2020

Conclusion

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