Viscosity of Fluids Lab: Bubble Time Method

Objectives
 Solidify the concept of viscosity through experimentation
 Test viscosities of different liquids using the Rising Bubble Technique

Introduction
Viscosity is a fluid property that measures the resistance of a fluid to flow and can simply be thought of as
the “thickness” of a fluid. Fluids that have a high viscosity, such as honey or molasses, have a high
resistance to flow while fluids with a low viscosity, such as a gas, flow easily. The resistance to
deformation within a fluid can be expressed as both absolute (or dynamic) viscosity, µ [Ns/m2], and
kinematic viscosity, υ [m2/s].

Absolute viscosity is determined by the ratio of the shear stress to the shear rate of the fluid. The shear
stress is dependent on the fluid’s resistance force to flow over the area of the plate while the shear rate is
the equivalent to the fluid’s gradient.

𝐹
𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝜏
µ= = = 𝐴
𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝛿µ
𝛿𝑦

These relationships shown in the equation above can be seen pictorially in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Friction between fluid and boundaries causes shear stress at a specific gradient.

While absolute viscosity is able to quantifiably compare various liquids and gases on the same scale, it
does not account for an important characteristic of fluids – the density (ρ). Kinematic viscosity (υ) is
highly dependent on density and is measured by the time required for a specific volume of fluid to flow
through a capillary or restriction.
µ
𝜐=
𝜌
Applications of Viscosity
Viscosity is an important concept that is taken into consideration in a variety of fields ranging from
cooking to oil rigging. Understanding the applications of viscosity can help in both flow characterization
and quality control.

Quality Control
 Since raw materials must be consistent from batch to batch, flow behavior can be used as an
indirect measure of product consistency and quality. As mentioned earlier, similar viscosities is
indicative of similar flows.
 Viscosity has a direct effect on the ability to be processed. When designing pumping and piping
systems, it should be known that a high viscosity liquid requires more power to pump than a low
viscosity one.
 The Viscosity Index of a liquid measures how variations in temperature directly affect the
viscosity of a fluid. Liquids whose viscosity is greatly dependent on temperature have a high
viscosity index. This is an important characteristic of a good lubricant.
Flow Characterization
 Rheology is the study of the flow of matter, primarily in the liquid state. The viscosity of a fluid
helps predict whether the flow will be laminar or turbulent and it can be categorized accordingly.
 Viscosity helps explain the behavior of fluids; thus, once the behaviors are understood, they can
be manipulated according to specific needs.

Measuring Viscosity
Depending on the type of fluid and flow characteristics, there are specific devices and experiments that
are used to measure viscosity. The two most common instruments are a viscometer, which measures a
single flow condition, and a rheometer, which measures varying flow. One of the simplest methods for
experimentally determining the kinematic viscosity of a liquid is using the Rising Bubble Technique. The
American Society for Testing and Materials has issued approval of this technique and classified it
accordingly as The Standard Test Method for Viscosity of Transparent Liquids by Bubble Time Method.

Guiding Principles of the Rising Bubble Technique

The Rising Bubble Technique is an elegant, yet simplistic, method to compare the viscosities of several
liquids in a single experiment. Research has shown that the time required for an air bubble in a liquid to
rise is directly proportional to its viscosity. Therefore, by using a set of precision viscosity tubes with a
tight tolerance on the internal diameter the relative bubble rise rate variations between the vials will be
below the level of visual detection, allowing for a comparison test between liquids to be made. There are
two different ways to determine the viscosity using the Rising Bubble Technique—the Comparison
Method and the Time Method.

Comparison Method
This method allows for viscosities of fluids to be estimated relatively accurately. This test is conducted
by measuring the bubble rise rate of liquid sample with an unknown viscosity and comparing them to
tabulated standards of samples with a known viscosity. A comparison of air bubble speed of the samples
to the standards permits estimation of viscosity; the faster the bubble rise, the lower the viscosity.
Time Method (ASTM D-1545)
The Time Method determines the exact viscosity by using a specific set of Time-Test Tubes. The length
of time, in seconds, required for an air bubble to travel 73mm through the specified inner-diameter tube is
approximately equal to the viscosity of the liquid in “Stoke” units or “Bubble Seconds”.

Problem Statement
QuantumFlo is an up-and-coming pump system company working to be competitive in today’s market.
They specialize in variable speed pumping technology. In order to achieve the greatest results from
marketing their pumps, QuantumFlo would like to advertise as being energy efficient by requiring
minimum power to run their machines. As a research and development engineer for QuantumFlo, you are
tasked with testing the viscosities of five different liquids to determine which requires the least amount of
power to run the machine.

Materials
 Thermometer
 Standard Cargille Viscosity Tubes
 Viscosity Tube Corks
 Tube Holder
 Syringes
 Stopwatch
 Test Liquids (e.g. liquid soap, corn syrup, vegetable oil, motor oil, etc)

Procedure
Complete the 2 different methods of the Rising Bubble Test to quantifiably determine which fluid would
require the least amount of power to run the QuantumFlo machine.

Method 1: Time Method (ASTM D-1545)

1. Fill the standard viscosity tubes with the liquid samples to be tested. Ensure that the bottom
meniscus is level to the 100-mm line.
2. Measure and record the temperature of the test samples in Table 1. For every 0.1°C the
temperature is above or below 25°C, account for a 1% error in the time when compared to Figure
1 standards.

Table 1: Record the sample type and sample temperature.

Tube # 1 2 3 4 5
Liquid Product
Temperature (°C)
Estimated Error

3. Insert a cork to the viscosity tubes so that the bottom of the cork is level with the 108-mm line.
4. All tubes should be in a completely vertical position. To begin the test, quickly invert the tubes.
a. Start the timing device when the top of the bubble becomes tangent to the 27-mm mark.
b. Stop the timing device with the top of the bubble becomes tangent with the 100-mm line.
c. Alternative timing method: Record video of ball drop and import in Logger Pro for video
analysis to determine time.
5. Record the time required for the 73-mm bubble rise for three trials in Table 2.
 Table 2: Measure and record the bubble rise time in each sample.

Tube # 1 2 3 4 5
Liquid Product
Trial 1
Product/Tube #
Bubble Rise Time (sec)
Trial 2
Product/Tube #
Bubble Rise Time (sec)
Trial 3
Product/Tube #
Bubble Rise Time (sec)

6. Using the collected data in Table 2 and comparing it to the standards listed in Table 3, determine
the kinematic viscosity of each sample in centistokes (cST). Record values in Table 4.

Table 3: Gardner-Hodlt standards for kinematic viscosity using the rising bubble technique. A [3]
 Table 4: Use the published standards in Table 3 to determine the kinematic viscosity.

Tube # 1 2 3 4 5
Kinematic
Viscosity (cST)

Method 2: Comparison Method

Note: The viscosity of at least one product must be known in advance in order to compare the other
products
1. Fill the standard viscosity tubes with the liquid samples to be tested. Ensure that the bottom
meniscus is level to the 100-mm line.
2. Insert cork so the bottom of the cork is level with the 108-mm line.
3. To test, quickly invert the tubes. Rank bubble rise times between the different products to
determine the relative viscosities. Record findings in Table 5.

Table 5: Find the relative kinematic viscosity using known viscosities.

Slowest Rise Time ----------------------------------------- Fastest Rise

Time
Product/Tube #
Viscosity (if known)

Questions/Deliverables
1. What characteristics are associated with a fluid that has a high-viscosity? Ones with a low-
viscosity?
2. What are five occupations that have direct applications with fluid viscosity?
3. List three common fluids used every day in increasing order of viscosity.
4. In other experiments, it has been found that an increase of temperature in a liquid will decrease
the viscosity. Oppositely, as the temperature of a gas increases, the viscosity also increases.
Please give an explanation for these observations.
5. Provide your recommendation of which fluid sample from the experiment will require the least
amount of power to run the QuantumFlo machine. Give your reasoning and any assumptions
made during the experiment to come to this conclusion.

References
[1] Cargille Viscosity Tubes Data Sheet
[2] http://www.coleparmer.com/TechLibraryArticle/933
[3] http://enterprise.astm.org/filtrexx40.cgi?+REDLINE_PAGES/D1545.htm
[4] www.quantumflo.com
[5] http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/630428/viscosity