DETERMINATION OF LIQUID VISCOSITY

KUO SARONG

Department of Chemical Engineering

College of Engineering and Architecture

Cebu Institute of Technology -University

N. Bacalso Ave. Cebu City, 6000 Philippines

In this experiment, the viscosity of liquids was determined using Ostwald viscometer.
Viscosity is the resistance of a substance to flow. Ostwald viscometer is a device made up of
quartz glass with a U-like shape form capillary tube that has a receiving vessel and two
reservoirs. The time for the four solutions in 25 g, 40, 60 g and 100g of sugar in 200 ml s to
pass from the distance between points A and B of the etched lines were measured through it
and was recorded. Using Poiseuille or Stokes Equation, the viscosity was calculated. The
solution that contains the greatest amount of sugar had the highest viscosity. Since, viscosity
is a function of concentration solution with lesser amount of sugar had the lowest viscosity.
The results were all prior to error due to some factors.

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1. Introduction

Viscosity is the resistance of a substance to flow. It describes the internal friction of a

moving fluid. This resistance acts against the motion of any solid object through the fluid and
also against motion of the fluid itself past stationary obstacles. Viscosity varies with the
different liquids and their intermolecular forces and molecular size. They are affected by
several factors in their surroundings as well.

The Ostwald Viscometer apparatus is use to be able to determine the viscosity a

liquid. The device utilizes direct or reverse flow of the test fluid through a U-shaped tube to
measure the fluid’s viscosity. The measurement is determined by noting the time required for
the fluid to flow a certain distance through tubing of a specific diameter.

In determining the viscosity, the Poiseuille or Stokes equation may be used. The
equation is as follows:
πP r 4 t
n=
8 LV
Where:
V = volume of the liquid
n = viscosity
t = time through a capillary tube
r = radius
L = length
P = pressure

Since the liquids flow through the same apparatus, the ratio of the viscosity
coefficient of the two liquids is given by:

n 1 πP r 4 t 8 LV
= ·
n 2 8 LV P2 r 4 t 2

Since pressure is proportional to the density of the liquids, we may write:

n1 P1 t 1 ρ1 t 1
= =
n2 P2 t 2 ρ2 t 2

1.2 Materials and Methods

The apparatus to be used are: Ostwald Viscometer, 4 Liter beaker, rubber suction,
stopwatch/timer, 4x250 ml beaker, digital balance, 5x100 ml graduated cylinder, Laboratory
wash bath. The materials to be used are: 1 Liter distilled water, 250 g of refined sacharose,
500 g crushed ice.

Four sugar solutions 25g, 50g, 75g, and 100g of sugar were dissolved in four separate
beakers in 200 ml of distilled water each. These solutions were immersed in a water bath to
cool the liquid. The temperature was then stablilized at 25°C using a thermometer that was
clamped steadily.

The Ostwald Viscometer was cleaned with a hot cleaning solution. The Viscometer
should be cleaned thoroughly, for any solid particles within the Viscometer may cause a
change in the flow of the liquid. This was rinsed with distilled water for further cleaning. The
Viscometer was then dried.

Water, preferably distilled water, was placed inside the Viscometer with a pipette
through the tube of the receiving vessel. The Viscometer was clamped, with the bulbs
completely immersed, in a two liter beaker filled with water. The temperature of the water
was maintained at 25 °C all throughout the procedure.

Liquid was forced above the reservoir using rubber suction and the time was
determined, from the time the water was to pass from mark A to B. The measurements were
repeated three more times.

The Viscometer was emptied and rinsed with the solution to be used next. This is to
prepare the apparatus for the next solution. The Viscometer was then filled with the solution.
The apparatus was returned to the previous set-up and the procedure for determining the time
was repeated.
The procedures were repeated with the other solutions. The density of the sugar
solutions was determined with a pycnometer.

1.3 Results

TIME TEMPERATURE ρ n
LIQUIDS
(sec) (°C) (millipoise)
Water 27.59 25 °C 0.99708 8.95
Solution 1 33.60 25 °C 1.04098 11.3795
Solution 2 44.84 25 °C 1.07743 15.7180
Solution 3 60.86 25 °C 1.11132 22.0045
Solution 4 82.12 25 °C 1.14092 30.4821

Computations:

Solution 1: Solution 2:
n1 ( 1.04098 ) (33.60) n2 (1.07743 )( 44.84)
= =
8.95 ( 0.99708 ) (27.59) 8.95 ( 0.99708 ) (27.59)

n1 = 11.379 millipoise n2 = 15.718 millipoise

Solution 3: Solution 4:
n3 ( 1.11132 ) (60.86) n4 ( 1.14092 ) (82.12)
= =
8.95 ( 0.99708 ) (27.59) 8.95 ( 0.99708 ) (27.59)

n3 = 22.004 millipoise n4 = 30.482 millipoise

Graph:
 Viscosity As A Function of Mole Fraction
35

30
Viscosity (millipoise)

25

20

15

10

0
0 0.66 1.3 1.94 2.57
Mole Fraction of Sugar (%)

Liquids Mole fraction of sugar (%) Viscosity

Water 0 8.950
25g-sugar sol’n 0.66 11.379
50g-sugar sol’n 1.3 15.718
75g-sugar sol’n 1.94 22.004
100g-sugar sol’n 2.57 30.482

1.4 Discussion

The four sugar solutions were prepared with different concentration. Among the four
solutions that were tested, the one with the highest viscosity was the fourth sugar solution,
which had the highest concentration of all the prepared sugar solutions. It is because the
viscosity of a solution increases with increasing concentration. The concentration of liquids is
the amount of solute dissolved in a given amount of solvent. If the amount of solute is great,
the viscosity will be affected. The liquid will be denser and the solution will be thicker
making the liquid harder to flow.
The experiment’s obtained results are not entirely accurate and errors have incurred.
Temperature is a very likely factor to affect the viscosity of the solutions because temperature
is difficult to maintain. When the solution’s temperature is above the standard conditions, it
affects the viscosity. The higher the temperature is, the lower a substance’s viscosity is.
Pressure is another factor to be considered. Although pressure was not measured in the
experiment, it was assumed that the pressure is at 1 bar since places above sea level has a
pressure of 1 bar. Compared to the temperature influence, liquids are influenced very little by
the applied pressure. So, in the experiment, the pressure is negligible. Shear rate or shear
stress also affects the viscosity. If a substance is not ideally viscous, its viscosity changes
with the shear rate. For such substances the apparent viscosity is specified. There are
substances that show shear-thinning behavior as shown in figure 1.1 below (curve 2). Their
viscosity decreases when the shear rate increases. For other substances the viscosity increases
with increasing shear rate – that is called shear-thickening (curve 3). The viscosity of the four
sugar solutions increases with increasing shear rate. It was proven in the experiment since the
graph above (viscosity as a function of mole fraction) has the same curve as with the curve 3
in the figure 1.1 below. Therefore, the sugar solutions are considered as shear-thickening
solutions which in turn affect their viscosity which is higher compare to that of water.
 fig.1.1
Viscosity function (dynamic viscosity over shear rate):
1 ... Newtonian liquid
2 ... shear-thinning substance
3 ... shear-thickening substance

1.5 Conclusion

There are many factors that affect the viscosity of a liquid. One of the factors
affecting the viscosity of a fluid is the concentration of a substance. When the concentration
is high, the viscosity will also increase. Viscosity then is directly proportional to
concentration. Another factor to be considered is temperature. If the temperature will
increase, the viscosity will increase. Thus, Viscosity is also directly proportional to the
temperature of the substance. Pressure also affects the fluid’s viscosity. In most cases, a
fluid’s viscosity increases with increasing pressure. Shear rate or shear stress like temperature
strongly affects the viscosity of the solutions. The viscosity of shear-thickening solutions like
the sugar solutions increases with increasing shear rate. For other substances or solutions, the
viscosity decreases when the shear rate increases-that is called shear-thinning behavior.

1.6 References
http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/jenmaci/Book/PDF/Unit%202/2%2016%20How%20Does
%20Temperature.pdf (accessed on September 22, 2016)

https://www.princeton.edu/~gasdyn/Research/T-C_Research_Folder/Viscosity_def.html (accessed on
September 20, 2016)
http://www.brookfieldengineering.com/education/viscosity_whymeasure.asp (accessed on September
22, 2016)

http://en.wikepedia.org/wiki/File:Stokessphere.svg (accessed on September 23, 2016)

http://en.wikepedia.org./wiki/Mark%E2%80%93Houwinkequation (accessed on September 23, 2016)

http://www.viscopedia.com/basics/types-of-viscosity/ (accessed on September 19, 2016)

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-ostwald-viscometer.htm (accessed on September 20, 2016)