CALCHEMCORPORATION

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Date: WinterQuarter
File: CHE322L

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Subject:

ViscosityMeasurement

ThebiomedicalsupplydivisionofCALCHEM,BIOMED,obtainedacontracttosupply
dialysateusedinhemodialysis.Inthisoperation,heparinizedbloodflowsthroughadevice
containingamembraneasshowninFigure1.Thedialysateorexchangefluidflowsonthe
membranesideoppositetheblood.Thetoxicwasteproducts,mostlyurea,fromtheblood
diffusethroughthemembranetothedialysate.Thecompositionofthedialysateisbasedon
theneedtorestoretheuremicplasmatothenormalstatewithoutdepletingtheessential
electrolytes inbloodplasma(1).Themembranes areusually madefromsuchmaterials as
cellulose,celluloseacetate,polyacrylonitrile,andpolycarbonate.Themembranesurfacearea
isabout1m2.Bloodflowratesareintherangeof100to300ml/minandthedialysateflow
rateisabouttwicethatoftheblood.
BIOMED would like to know the viscosity of the dialysate to calculate the necessary
pressuredropacrossthehemodialyzerfortherequireddialysateflowrate.Pleasecalibrate
ourviscometersothatwecouldaccuratelymeasurethedialysateviscositythatisonthe
orderoftheviscosityofwater.
a n t ic o a g u la n t
( h e p a r in )
b lo o d

H e m o d ia ly z e r

d ia ly s a t e
Figure1.Schematicofablooddialysissystem
Reference:
1.Fournier,R.L.,BasicTransportPhenomenainBiomedicalEngineering,p.154,TaylorFrancis,
1998
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CHE322

ExperimentNo.7

TRANSPORTLABORATORY

VISCOSITYMEASUREMENT

Introduction

AnumberofdevicesareavailabletomeasuretheviscosityofaNewtonianfluid.However,
an accurate determination of viscosity requires a careful analysis of the experimental
techniquethatisused.Tostudysomeoftheproblemsinvolvedinviscositymeasurement,a
CannonFenskeandaStormerviscometerwillbeconsidered.
The CannonFenske viscometer is a capillary type viscometer with its main component
showninFigure1.Tomakeameasurement,sucktheliquidpasttheupperetchedlineand
thenreleaseit.Theeffluxtimetefflux requiredfortheliquidleveltopassfromtheupperto
theloweretchedlineismeasured.SincetheeffluxvolumeV effluxbetweentheetchedlinesis
calibrated,theaveragevolumeflowrateQthroughthecapillaryisgivenby
Q=Vefflux/tefflux

(1)

Etched lines

Capillary

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Fig.1Capillaryviscometer.
Thevolumetricflowratethroughtheuniformcapillarydescribedabovecanalsobeobtained
fromapplicationofthesteadymomentumbalancetothelaminarflowoffluids.Theresulting
equationistheHagenPoiseuillerelationship(Ref.1).
Q=R4P/(8L)

(2)

where
P
R
L

=totalupstreampressureminustotaldownstreampressure
=capillaryradius
=capillarylength
=absoluteviscosity

Ifthetotalpressurechangeisduetohydrostaticheadalone,Eq.(2)canbewrittenas

where

=g(h)R4/(8QL)

g
h

=accelerationofgravity
=upstreamhydrostaticheadminusdownstreamhydrostatichead
=kinematicviscosity

(3)

UsingQfromEq.(1),thekinematicviscositycanbeobtained

=[g(h)R4/(8LVefflux)]tefflux=Ctefflux

(4)

wherethequantityinsquarebracketisaknownconstantCforagivenviscometer.

ExperimentalWork
Thereisablack,looseleafbindercontainingbackgroundinformationonviscometersand
twoASTM(AmericanSocietyforTestingMaterials)proceduresforviscometers.D445is
moregeneral.D446ismorespecific.Thereisviscositydataforcastoroilvs.temperature
andforaqueousglycerolvs.concentration.Pleaselookatallarticles.
UseofCannonFenske(CF)viscometertubes
WehaveanumberofCannonFenskeviscometertubes.Youmustdeterminethecorrectsize
oftheCFtubeforeachfluidusingTable1.Iftherecommendedsizeisnotusedforthe
viscosityrangeyoushoulddiscusstheconsequencesinthereport.Theinstructionsforthe
CannonFenskeviscometerare(fromthemanual):
1. The viscometer should be cleaned with a suitable solvent and dry, clean,
filtered air should be blown through the viscometer to remove any remaining
traces of solvent.
2. The instrument should be periodically cleaned with chromic acid to remove
any possible traces of organic deposits.

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3. If a possibility of lint, dust, or other solid material is present in liquid sample,

this may be removed by filtering through a sintered glass filter or fine mesh
screen.
4. To introduce sample into the viscometer, invert viscometer and immerse tube
A into liquid. Apply suction to J which causes the sample to rise to etched line
E. Turn the viscometer to normal position and wipe tube A clean.
- An alternative step is to use a pipette and pour liquid into leg J.
5. Insert the viscometer into a holder and place in Constant-Temperature Bath.
Allow 10 minutes for viscometer to reach equilibrium at 100 oF and 15 minutes at
210oF.

B
C
D
J

E
F

H
G
Fig.2CannonFenskeRoutineViscometer
6. Vertical alignment may be accompanied in bath by suspending a plumb bob in
tube J.
7. Apply suction to tube A and bring sample into bulb D, a short distance
above mark C.
8. The efflux time is measured by allowing the sample to flow freely through
mark C, measuring the time for the meniscus to pass from C to E.
9. To repeat efflux time, repeat steps 7 and 8.

Youmustdeterminetheviscometer(calibration)constantforeveryCFtube.Theviscometer
constantisdeterminedbyusingthesameprocedureforaliquidofknownviscosity(atthe
measuredtemperature).Thefollowingtableprovidestherecommendedviscosityrangesand
theapproximateconstantforeachsizeCFtube.
Table1RecommendedViscosityRangesforTheCFViscometers
Centistoke/Second
40

Size
ApproximateConstant
CentistokesRange
20
0.002
0.5
to
2
50
0.004
0.8
to
4
75
0.008
1.6
to
8
100
0.015
3
to
15
150
0.035
7
to
35
200
0.1
20
to
100
300
0.25
50
to
250
350
0.5
100
to
500
400
1.2
240
to
1200
450
2.5
500
to
2500
500
8
1600 to
8000
FirstyoumustdeterminethesamplesizefortheCFtubes.Alsodeterminetheviscometer
constant,usingdistilledwater,forthreetubesofthesamesize.
Make upa solution of 10.0w%of aqueous glycerol and determine its viscosity at five
differenttemperaturesfromabout70.to150. oF.Usedistilledwatertocalibratethetube
used. Make up a solution of 40.% aqueous glycerol and determine its viscosity at five
different temperatures from about 70. to 150.oF. Use the 70.oF, or room temperature
viscosity,ofthe10.%glycerolforcalibrating.
Wewillbeusingtheoilfilled,temperaturecontrolledbathinthetransportlaboratory.You
mightneedalighttoilluminatethebathforeaseinmakingreadings.Thebathheatsquickly
butcoolsslowly...soplanaccordingly.TheheatingelementcontrolhasH,M,MLand
L(ow)settings.Thecontrolhasamagneticdriveunitsoitisnecessarytoturnthecontrol
knob slowly. YoucanheatquicklybystartingonH(igh),butthenyoumustchangetoa
lowersettingsothatyoudontovershootthetemperature.Notethattherearecoolingcoils
whichcanbeusedtocoolthebath(ifyouconnectthemtothecoolingwatersupply),butyou
willnotbeabletocoolthebathquickly.
Recordtheeffluxtimefromthreetosixtimesforeachviscositymeasured.Ifthereisa
noticeabledifference betweenthetimes thusmeasured,theviscometermaybedirty,the
stopwatchmaybeinaccurateortheremaybesomeotherproblem.Inanycasetakecorrective
action.Whenfinished,thoroughlycleantheviscometersandturnoffthethermostat.
Calculateallviscosities,bothkinematicandabsolute.Calculatethebestaverageviscosityfor
eachsolutionandeachtemperature.Youshouldfitthedataobtainedforthetwosolutionsto
thefollowingequations:
viscosity=Aexp(BT)
viscosity=Aexp(B/T)
whereAandBareconstantsandTistheabsolutetemperatureinoR.
Alsocomparethemeasuredviscosityofthe10.%glycerolwiththeliteraturevalue.
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TheStormerViscometer(Viscosimeter)
TheStormerviscometerconsistsoftwoconcentriccylinders,oneofwhichisrotatedwhile
theotherisheldstationary.Thefluidviscositycanbedeterminedfromtherotationalspeed
andthetorqueT onthecylinder(Ref.1,pg.146149).
T=C
where istheangularspeed.Theconstant C canbecalibratedbyaliquidwithknown
viscosity.
Trytotakeasmuchdataaspossiblesinceyoumightnothaveenoughtimetoperformallthe
experimentsrecommendedinthissection.
ThisversionoftheStormerviscometeriseasytooperate,producesresultsquicklyand
isadaptabletoavarietyofmaterials,incontrasttotheCannonFensketube.Howeverit
isnotasaccurateasCF.SeetheinformationfolderinthelaboratoryfortheStormer
instructions.Whatsizesampleisrequired?
Setuptheviscometeraccordingtotheinstructions.Calibrateitwithdistilledwaterand
40.0%glycerolsolution.Measuretheviscosityofthe20.0%glycerolsolutionatroom
temperature.Bringasample,ofaviscoushydrophilicmaterial,fromhomefortesting.
Someexamplesarecatsup,chilisauce,condensedmilk,honey,mustard,pancakesyrup
oracornstarchsolution.Testthissampleatroomtemperatureusingappropriateloads.
Plotrevolutionspersecondversusload.Howwouldyoudescribetheflowpropertiesof
yoursample?
Look up the viscosities of 40.w% sucrose solutions in a table in one of the references.
Prepareaviscositytemperatureplot,overtherangefrom0100 oC,usingtheArrheniustype
relationship.Determinethetwoconstantsfortheleastsquaresline.

Report
TheCannonFenskeresultsaretheviscosityversustemperaturegraphsforthetwoequations.
Whichrelationshipgivesthebettercorrelation?Alsolisttheviscometerconstantsforthe
threetubesofthesamesize.Howmuchdotheyvary?Whydotheyvary?
Useatable toexpress the Stormerviscosityresults.Calculate theviscosityofthe20.%
glycerol sample using the viscometer constant from both the distilled water and 40.%
glycerol.Howdotheseviscositiescomparewitheachotherandwiththeliteraturevalue?
Theresultsoftheviscositymeasurementsoftheviscous,hydrophilicsampleatdifferent
loadsshouldbepresentedusingagraph.
Thefollowingquestionsshouldbeanswered:

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1.CouldyoucalculatetheviscometerconstantforaCFtube,usinganequation(notusing
thedrainingtime)?
2. What would you have to do to calculate the viscometer constant for the Stormer
viscometer?
3.Forthecapillarytypeviscometersithasbeenfoundthat,undercertainconditionsoffluid
propertiesand/orfordifferentviscometertube,thekinematicviscosityisbestrelatedtothe
effluxtimebythefollowingequation:

=CteffluxB/tefflux

(5)

whereCandBareconstants.
a.Explainthetheoreticalsignificanceofthisequation.
b.UnderwhatexperimentalconditionswillEq.(5)reducetoEq.(4).
c.Howwouldoneevaluatetheconstants,BandC,experimentally?
4.InthedevelopmentofEq.(4)itwasassumedthatafullydevelopedvelocityprofileexists
inthecapillarytubeatalltimesandisdirectlyrelatedtotheinstantaneoushydrostatichead
across the capillary. Discuss the validity of this assumption. Is this a quasi steadystate
assumption?
References
1.Middleman,Stanley,AnIntroductiontoFluidDynamics,Wiley,(1998),pg.6874
2.Crosby,E.J.,ExperimentsinTransportPhenomena,Wiley,(1961),pg.114.
3. Aronson M. H. and Nelson R. C., Viscosity Measurement and Control, Instruments
Publishing,(1964).

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