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 Viscometer: (also called viscosimeter) is an instrument used to measure the viscosity of

a fluid. For liquids with viscosities which vary with flow conditions, an instrument called
a rheometer is used. Thus, a rheometer can be considered as a special type of viscometer.

Types of viscometer:
U-tube viscometers:
These devices are also known as glass capillary viscometers or Ostwald viscometers, named
after Wilhelm Ostwald. Another version is the Unbeholden viscometer, which consists of a U-shaped
glass tube held vertically in a controlled temperature bath. In one arm of the U is a vertical section of
precise narrow bore (the capillary). Above there is a bulb, with it is another bulb lower down on the
other arm. In use, liquid is drawn into the upper bulb by suction, then allowed to flow down through
the capillary into the lower bulb. Two marks (one above and one below the upper bulb) indicate a
known volume. The time taken for the level of the liquid to pass between these marks is proportional
to the kinematic viscosity. The calibration can be done using a fluid of known properties

Falling-sphere viscometers:
Stokes' law is the basis of the falling-sphere viscometer, in which the fluid is stationary in a
vertical glass tube. A sphere of known size and density is allowed to descend through the
liquid. If correctly selected, it reaches terminal velocity, which can be measured by the time it
takes to pass two marks on the tube. Electronic sensing can be used for opaque fluids.
Knowing the terminal velocity, the size and density of the sphere, and the density of the
liquid, Stokes' law can be used to calculate the viscosity of the fluid

Falling-ball viscometer
In 1932, Fritz Hopper was granted a patent for the falling-ball viscometer, named after him – the
worldwide first viscometer to determine the dynamic viscosity. More other world-firsts viscometers
developed by Fritz Hopper in Medigen (Germany) are the ball pressure types consistometer and
viscometer, see Kugeldruckviskosimeter = ball pressure viscometer.

Falling-piston viscometer
Also known as the Norcross viscometer after its inventor, Austin Norcross. The principle of viscosity
measurement in this rugged and sensitive industrial device is based on a piston and cylinder
assembly. The piston is periodically raised by an air lifting mechanism, drawing the material being
measured down through the clearance (gap) between the piston and the wall of the cylinder into the
space formed below the piston as it is raised.
Oscillating-piston viscometer
Sometimes referred to as electromagnetic viscometer or EMV viscometer, was invented
at Cambridge Viscosity (Formally Cambridge Applied Systems) in 1986. The sensor (see figure
below) comprises a measurement chamber and magnetically influenced piston

Rotational viscometers
Rotational viscometers use the idea that the torque required to turn an object in a fluid is a function
of the viscosity of that fluid. They measure the torque required to rotate a disk or bob in a fluid at a
known speed.
"Cup and bob" viscometers work by defining the exact volume of a sample to be sheared within a
test cell; the torque required to achieve a certain rotational speed is measured and plotted. There
are two classical geometries in "cup and bob" viscometers, known as either the "Couette" or "Searle"
systems, distinguished by whether the cup or bob rotates. The rotating cup is preferred in some
cases because it reduces the onset of Taylor vortices at very high shear rates, but the rotating bob is
more commonly used, as the instrument design can be more flexible for other geometries as well.

Vibrational viscometers
Vibrational viscometers date back to the 1950s Bendix instrument, which is of a class that operates
by measuring the damping of an oscillating electromechanical resonator immersed in a fluid whose
viscosity is to be determined. The resonator generally oscillates in torsion or transversely (as a
cantilever beam or tuning fork). The higher the viscosity, the larger the damping imposed on the
resonator. The resonator's damping may be measured by one of several methods:

1. Measuring the power input necessary to keep the oscillator vibrating at a constant amplitude.
The higher the viscosity, the more power is needed to maintain the amplitude of oscillation.
2. Measuring the decay time of the oscillation once the excitation is switched off. The higher the
viscosity, the faster the signal decays.
3. Measuring the frequency of the resonator as a function of phase angle between excitation
and response waveforms. The higher the viscosity, the larger the frequency change for a
given phase change.
The vibrational instrument also suffers from a lack of a defined shear field, which makes it unsuited
to measuring the viscosity of a fluid whose flow behaviour is not known beforehand.

Rectangular-slit viscometer
The basic design of a rectangular-slit viscometer/rheometer consists of a rectangular-slit channel
with uniform cross-sectional area. A test liquid is pumped at a constant flow rate through this
channel. Multiple pressure sensors flush-mounted at linear distances along the stream-wise direction
measure pressure drop as depicted in the figure:
Electromagnetically spinning-sphere viscometer (EMS viscometer)

Measuring principle of the electromagnetically spinning-sphere viscometer

The EMS viscometer measures the viscosity of liquids through observation of the rotation of a
sphere driven by electromagnetic interaction: Two magnets attached to a rotor create a rotating
magnetic field. The sample ③ to be measured is in a small test tube ②. Inside the tube is an
aluminum sphere ④. The tube is located in a temperature-controlled chamber ① and set such that
the sphere is situated in the center of the two magnets.
The rotating magnetic field induces eddy currents in the sphere. The resulting Lorentz interaction
between the magnetic field and these eddy currents generate torque that rotates the sphere. The
rotational speed of the sphere depends on the rotational velocity of the magnetic field, the magnitude
of the magnetic field and the viscosity of the sample around the sphere. The motion of the sphere is
monitored by a video camera ⑤ located below the cell. The torque applied to the sphere is
proportional to the difference in the angular velocity of the magnetic field ΩB and the one of the
spheres ΩS. There is thus a linear relationship between (ΩB − ΩS)/ΩS and the viscosity of the liquid.

Krebs Viscometer
The Krebs Viscometer uses a digital graph and a small sidearm spindle to measure the viscosity of a
fluid. It is mostly used in the paint industry.
Miscellaneous viscometer types
Other viscometer types use balls or other objects. Viscometers that can characterize non-Newtonian
fluids are usually called rheometers or plastometers.
In the I.C.I "Oscar" viscometer, a sealed can of fluid was oscillated torsionally, and by clever
measurement techniques it was possible to measure both viscosity and elasticity in the sample.