Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

of SINGAPORE

Chemical Engineering Laboratory I

Experiment F1

Flow Behaviour of Non-Newtonian Fluid

Name :

Matric No. :

Group :

Date of Expt. :

GRADE :
Objectives:

• To determine the values of K' and n' of a non-Newtonian fluid.

• To determine the correlation between Fanning friction factor and Reynolds number

Apparatus:

A set of 3 horizontal tubes of different inside diameters, flow meter, differential pressure
meters and centrifugal pump

Theory:

Fluids may be classified according to the rheological behaviour into Newtonian fluids and
non-Newtonian fluids. Newtonian fluids are those which exhibit a direct proportionality
between the shear stress τ and the shear rate or velocity gradient (du/dr) in the laminar-flow
region. Non-Newtonian fluids, on the other hand, encompass all materials which do not obey
the direct proportionality between shear stress and shear rate. The majority of non-Newtonian
fluids fall under the most important classification called pseudoplastic fluids. For a
pseudoplastic fluid, such as a solution of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) in water, a plot of
shear stress versus shear rate on logarithmic co-ordinates usually yields a straight line over a
rather wide range of shear rates. For any such straight-line region the flow curve may be
characterised by the equation.
 − du 
n

τ =K   (1)
 dr 
where n has values less than unity for pseudoplastic fluids. The larger the divergence of n
from unity, the more non-Newtonian the fluid. For Newtonian fluids, n, is unity and K is
then the viscosity µ.

The Rabinowitsch-Mooney equation for the calculation of shear rates at the wall (w) of a tube
or pipe is
 du  3 8V 1 D∆p d (8V / D)
-   = + (2)
 dr  W 4 D 4 4 L d ( D∆P / 4 L)
 du  3n' + 1 8V
or -   = (3)
 dr  W 4n' D
D ∆P
d (ln )
4L
where n' = (4)
8V
d (ln )
D
D - diameter of tube or pipe
L - length of tube or pipe
V - average bulk velocity
∆P - pressure drop across tube length L

The Rabinowitsch-Mooney equation is applicable to all four types of common flow

behaviour i.e., pseudoplastic, Newtonian, Bingham-plastic and dilatant fluids.
The derivative of Eq. 4 represents the slope of a line in a plot of ln (D∆P/4L) versus
ln(8V/D), hence it is permissible to write
 D ∆P 8 V n'
=τW = K' ( ) (5)
4L D
The similarity between Eq. 1 and Eq. 5 is obvious. The parameters n' and n characterise the
extent of non-Newtonian behaviour. When they are equal to unity the fluids are Newtonian;
values of n' and n less than unity indicate pseudoplastic or Bingham-plastic behaviour, and
values greater than unity characterise dilatant behaviour. The greater the divergence of n'
from unity (in either direction) the more non-Newtonian is the fluid in question. These
dimensionless quantities are called flow-behaviour indexes. Values of K and K' are called
the indexes of "viscosity" or consistency of the fluid, the larger the value of K' the "more
viscous" the fluid.

One successful correlation for non-Newtonian fluid behaviour has been a plot of Fanning
friction factor φf vs. the generalized Reynolds number on logarithmic coordinates.
 D∆P   V ρ 
2
16 γ 16
φf =     = n ' 2− n ' = (6)
 4 L   2  D V ρ N Re
D n 'V 2− n ' ρ
where γ = K' 8n’-1; ρ is density of the fluid and NRe = is called the generalized
γ
D Vρ
Reynolds number.(Note that for a Newtonian fluid n' = 1, γ = K' = µ , so NRe = ).
µ

Experimental Procedure:

Make sure all inlet and outlet valves in three pipelines are closed. Turn on the main switch
and start the pump on the control panel. Select one pipeline at a time, fully open the outlet
valve and adjust the inlet valve to set the flow rate to the desired value. Record the pressure
drop across the pipeline at each flow rate when steady state is reached. Vary the flow rate to
make at least five runs for each pipeline. Repeat the measurement for other two pipelines.
Close all valves after finishing the experiment.
Tabulation and Calculation

D∆P 8V
1. Determine K' and n' of the CMC solution by plotting ln vs. ln
4L D
2. Plot φf vs. NRe and determine the correlation between φf and NRe.

Results and Discussions:

1. Compare flow behaviour of this fluid with that of a Newtonian fluid.

2. Compare your results with those in published literature.
3. What are the applications of the Friction factor - Reynolds number correlation?

References:

1. Metzner, A. B., and Reed, J.C., A.I.Ch.E.J., 2, 434 (1955).

2. Metzner, A. B., "Advances in Chemical Engineering", Vol. 1, p.79, 1956, Academic
Press, N.Y.
3. Geankoplis, C. J., "Transport Processes: Momentum, Heat &Mass", p.163, 1983, Allyn
& Bacon.