Seek and Geek 10: Rheometer

For my research, I need to measure the viscosity of inks. Now, I’ve never had to measure
viscosity before, so I looked into a few ways to do it.

The first search term to measure viscosity relies on very low Reynolds number and balance of
forces. In this method, I would drop a spherical object in a graduated cylinder. To measure the
viscosity, mass/diameter of the spherical object, and the time to travel a certain distance.
Balancing buoyancy, gravity, and viscous drag.

0 = −𝑚𝑔 + 𝜌𝑉𝑔 − 6𝜋𝜇𝑣𝑅

Where m is the mass, V is the volume of the spherical object, 𝜌 is the density of the liquid, 𝑣 is
the terminal velocity of the object (measured from the time to travel a distance), R is the radius
of the object, and 𝜇 is the viscosity. This method is a quick, first order method - but it good for
accurate measurements. For one, in order to balance the forces, the ball needs to be terminal
velocity and it may not have reached that in the allotted travel.
Another method of measuring the viscosity is the capillary rheometer. In this case, the system
can be modeled as pressure driven flow through a
tube. As one can recall from fluid mechanics, for a
Hagen-Poiseuille flow of a Newtonian fluid,
8𝜇𝐿𝑄
Δ𝑃 =
𝜋𝑅 4
where P is the pressure, Q is the flow rate, L is the
length of the tube, R is the radius. The velocity
profile (no slip conditions at the ends of the tube) is
Δ𝑃𝑅 2 𝑟 2
𝑣(𝑟) = (1 − ( ) )
4𝜇𝐿 𝑅
The shear stress at the wall is
𝑑𝑢
𝜏𝑤 = (@𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙) 𝜇
𝑑𝑟
𝑑𝑢
The shear rate ( ) is (after rearranging)
𝑑𝑟

𝑑𝑢 4𝑄
=
𝑑𝑟 𝜋𝑅 3

Lettiere Seek and Geek #10

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 𝜏𝑤 𝜋𝑅 3
Then finally, 𝜇 = for a Newtonian fluid.
4𝑄

Lastly, there are parallel plate rotational rheometers. A

rotational rheometer will apply or measure torque (force),
angular displacement, and angular velocity. In short, the
stress, strain, and shear rate
2
𝜎 (𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠) = 𝑇𝑜𝑟𝑞𝑢𝑒
𝜋𝑟 3
𝑟
𝛾 (𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛) = (𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)
ℎ
𝑟
𝛾 𝑥 (𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒) = 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦
ℎ
The viscosity is
𝜎
𝜇=
𝛾𝑥
This methodology seems to be a simplier way to measure the viscosity at varying shear rates
instead of different ball sizes or pressure drops.

Lettiere Seek and Geek #10

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