METU Chem. Eng. Dept.

Ch.E. 410 Chem. Eng. Lab II

EXPERIMENT 1.2.
TUBULAR VISCOMETRY (VISC)

OBJECTIVE
In this experiment a non-Newtonian solution is characterized in terms of its viscosity
under steady shear-flow condition.

PRELIMINARY WORK
Prior to the experiment carry out the following tasks:
 Study the derivation of the stress and velocity profiles for laminar flow of a
Newtonian fluid in a circular tube.
 Read up on the classification of fluids based on their viscosity, and the general
characteristics of non-Newtonian liquids. Find out the rheological class of the
fluid used in your experiment (Newtonian/non-Newtonian, shear-thinning or shear
thickening etc.)
 Using equations 1-6 below, derive an expression that relates the pressure drop,
volumetric flow rate and the exponent ‘n’ for a power-law fluid. Describe the
linearization of this expression, and how you plan to obtain the parameters n and
K from the slope and the intercept.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Capillary viscometers are widely used instruments for the measurement of viscosity due,
in part, to their relative simplicity, low cost and accuracy. In a typical tubular flow, the
fluid experiences a range of shear rate; the shear rate is zero at the capillary center and
maximum at the wall. Capillary flow data can be used to obtain the viscosity
corresponding to the shear rate evaluated at the wall. To determine the wall shear rate, the
laminar velocity profile is used. Flow data consisting of pressure drop and volumetric
flow rate measurements can be used to obtain the viscosity corresponding to the shear rate
evaluated at the wall as outlined below.
For any rheological behavior, the shear stress at the wall under steady-state conditions is
given by the expression:
ΔPπR2 = τw2πRL (1)
where P, τw, and R represent pressure, wall shear stress and tube radius, respectively.
a) For Newtonian fluids, shear rate at the wall is given by

'w = 4Q/ πR3 (2)

1/4
METU Chem. Eng. Dept. Experiment 1.2.
Tubular Viscometry
Ch.E. 410 Chem. Eng. Lab II

which is a unique function of the volume flow rate Q.

b) For non-Newtonian power-law fluids:
3n  1 Q
 w   (3)
n R 3
or equivalently, using (2):
 3n  1  
   w     w (4)
 4n 
Hence the shear rate depends on the power- law index (n) as well as on the flow rate. The
relation between the shear stress and the shear rate at the wall is obtained for a power-
law fluid as:

   w  K   w n (5)

n
 3n  1 
w  K    w 
n
  (6)
 4 n 

The power law index n can be obtained from a plot on log-log scales of τw (which is a
unique function of the pressure drop) as a function of 'w, which depends only on the
flow rate Q. The non-Newtonian viscosity at the wall can be evaluated through:

= (7)

End Effects:
The velocity profiles are obtained assuming that flow is fully developed. This assumption
can be quite accurate provided that the entry and exit lengths of the flow are negligible
compared to the total length of the capillary. The complications associated with end
effects should always be considered in viscosity measurements with capillaries of finite
lengths. It is usually safe to neglect end effects as long as the length to diameter ratio
(L/D) of the capillary is on the order of 100-120, at least for purely viscous fluids. There
may be situations when it is not possible to use such large values of (L/D) and therefore,
the resulting shear stress values must be corrected for the end effects.
In order to get the pressure drop associated with the fully developed section of the flow
two experiments can be performed by using two capillaries of two distinct lengths, say LA
and LB. Both tubes have radius R and are longer than the sum of the entrance (Len) and
exit (Lex) lengths. This requirement ensures that there will be steady fully-developed

2/4
METU
U Chem. Eng. Dept.
D Experiiment 1.2.
Tubular Viscometry
V
Ch.E. 410 Chem. En
ng. Lab II

sheaar flow in some

s sectionn of each tuube. In the first
f experim
ment, the prressure PA required
r
for the volumeetric flow rate
r Q throough the tubbe of lengtth, LA is measured.
m A similar
meaasurement is made in the
t second experimentt to find PB necessary to obtain thhe same
flow
w rate Q.

PERIMEN
EXP NTAL

paratus: Volumetric
App V flask, glasssware, stopwatch, periistaltic pum
mp and the tubular
visccometer.

Peristalltic Pump

F
Figure 1. Exxperimentaal Set-up
Matterials: Disstilled waterr and carbooxylmethyl ccellulose (C
CMC) will be
b used. Beefore the
lab session, reaad the MSD
DS pages of CMC.

PRO
OCEDURE
E
a) Experim
ments are too be carried
d out at leasst four diffeerent flow rates
r for a 0.5
0 wt%
CMC-w
water solutioon. For eacch flow ratee, once the level in thee cylinder becomes
b
steady, record the liquid
l level in the cylinnder.

b) Repeat the measureements usinng the otherr set-up, which has a diifferent flow
w length.
me procedurre is appliedd for the sam
The sam me volumettric flow rattes.

3/4
METU Chem. Eng. Dept. Experiment 1.2.
Tubular Viscometry
Ch.E. 410 Chem. Eng. Lab II

CALCULATIONS
Part A:
1. To calculate the power law index (n), take the pressure drop vs flow rate data,
Hint: Plot log(ΔP/L) versus log(Q) graph.
2. Find the power law constant (K).
3. Calculate the generalized Re that may be used to check the flow regime. For
power law fluids, it is given by [4]:
(8) Re
8 ρD V n
=
K 6n + 2
V = bulk velocity
D = diameter of the capillary
n = power law index
Plot on a log-log scale η as a function of  w to observe the non-Newtonian behavior of

the polymer solution used in the experiment. Discuss what type of non-Newtonian fluid it
is.

Part B: To investigate the end effects on the flow, we wish to make a connection
between Eqn1 and the Bagley end correction factor e. According to Bagley’s scheme, one
can obtain the steady shear flow τw by measuring the pressure drop ΔP in the reservoir for
various flow rates and for tubes of different L/R ratios. For a fixed value of Q, if the
pressure drop ΔP is plotted as a function of L/R, the result is represented by a straight line
with slope 2τw. The line intersects the L/R axis at ‘e’ as given by
L (9)
ΔP = 2τ
R
As multiple measurements are taken in both part a and part b, the correction factor can be
calculated several times, all of which should compare well with each other.

SUGGESTED READING
1. Bird, R.B., W.E. Stewart and E.N. Lightfoot, Transport Phenomena, Wiley, 2nd ed., 2002.
2. Whorlow, R.W., Rheological Techniques, 2nd ed, 1992.

4/4
METU Chem. Eng. Dept. Experiment 1.2.
Tubular Viscometry
Ch.E. 410 Chem. Eng. Lab II

3. Chabbra, R.P., Non- Newtonian Flow and Applied Rheology, 2nd ed, 2008.
4. Metzner, A.B., Reed, J.C., 1955. Flow of non-Newtonian fluids correlation of the
laminar, transition and turbulent flow regime, AICHE J, 434-440.   

5/4