Experiment No.

4
Measurement of Viscosity of Liquids by Capillary Flow Method

Group No.3: Date Performed: May 7,2012

Dayrit, Elaine Cezarra Professor: Engr. A.R.D. Marquez
De Luna, Johnson
Dicuangco, Sarah Jane A.
Dioquino, Colleen Samantha

ABSTRACT
The experiment is about the determination of the viscosity of a number of normal saturated
alcohols by means of an Ostwald viscometer. It studies the effects of salt concentration on the
viscosities of aqueous solutions and of temperature on the viscosity of water. The reagents used
are distilled water, ethanol, ethylene glycol, 1-butanol, NaCl, and chromic acid. Several materials
are used I the determination of viscosity such as Ostwald-Fenske viscometer, constant
temperature bath, stopwatch, 10-mL pipettes, and 250-mL beakers. The viscosity of pure liquids
is determined with the use of the Ostwald viscometer. The constant A of the viscometer is
determined using water which has known density and viscosity. With this constant, other
viscosities are computed. The experiment studies some factors affecting the viscosity of fluids.
Salt concentrations increase the viscosities of aqueous solutions. Viscosity of liquids is greatly
affected by the temperature. Viscosity is inversely proportional to temperature. As the
temperature of a fluid increases the viscosity of that fluid decreases. When the liquid is heated,
the cohesive forces between the molecules reduce thus the forces of attraction between them
reduce, which eventually reduces the viscosity of the liquids.

INTRODUCTION shear stress or tensile stress. In everyday

terms, viscosity is thickness or internal
The objective of the experiment is to friction. (see Figure 1)
determine the viscosity of a number of
normal saturated alcohols by means of an
Ostwald viscometer. It also studies the
When two layers of fluids move past one
effects of salt concentration on the
another with a certain relative velocity, both
viscosities of aqueous solutions and of
layers experience a force which tends to
temperature on the viscosity of water.
oppose their relative motions. The area of
Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a the plane of contact between the layers and
fluid which is being deformed by either the velocity gradient normal to it affect the

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 Experiment No. 4
Measurement of Viscosity of Liquids by Capillary Flow Method
magnitude of the force. The effect is
expressed as:
𝑭 𝒅𝒖
∝ 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟏
𝑨 𝒅𝒙
where u is the velocity (m/s), du is the
difference in velocity between two layers
(m/s), dx is the difference in position normal
to the flow between two fluid layers (m),
and A is the area of contact (m2). The ratio
F/A is termed the viscous shear stress (𝜏).
Introducing of a proportionality constant
makes equation 1 to:
𝒅𝒖
𝝉 = 𝝁 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟐
𝒅𝒙
where μ is the dynamic viscosity or simply
the viscosity of fluid (kg/m-s).
Newton's law of viscosity (equation 2), is a
constitutive equation. It is not a fundamental
law of nature but an approximation that
holds in some materials and fails in others.
Non-Newtonian fluids exhibit a more
complicated relationship between shear
stress and velocity gradient than simple
linearity. Thus there exist a number of forms
of viscosity:
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1. Newtonian: fluids, such as water and
most gases which have a constant
viscosity.
2. Shear thickening: viscosity increases
with the rate of shear.
3. Shear thinning: viscosity decreases with
the rate of shear. Shear thinning liquids
are very commonly, but misleadingly,
described as thixotropic.
4. Thixotropic: materials which become
less viscous over time when shaken,
agitated, or otherwise stressed.
5. Rheopectic: materials which become
more viscous over time when shaken,
agitated, or otherwise stressed.
6. A Bingham plastic is a material that
behaves as a solid at low stresses but
flows as a viscous fluid at high stresses.
7. A magnetorheological fluid is a type of
"smart fluid" which, when subjected to a
magnetic field, greatly increases its
apparent viscosity, to the point of
becoming a viscoelastic solid.
There are several experimental methods for
the determination of the viscosity of fluids
such as flow through the capillary tubes, fall
of solid spheres through fluids, torque or
viscous drag on a rotating disk or cylinder
immersed in the fluid, and flow of fluids
through an aperture in a plate. The
experiment used the Ostwald viscometer
which is based on the principles of flow
through capillary tubes.
U-tube viscometers are known as glass
capillary viscometers or Ostwald
viscometers (see Figure 2), named after
Wilhelm Ostwald. Ostwald viscometers
measure the viscosity of a fluid with a
 Experiment No. 4
Measurement of Viscosity of Liquids by Capillary Flow Method
known density. It uses a small-diameter tube
(capillary). The fluid’s time of flow of a
specific volume through the capillary is
measured. There is a constant pressure drop
across the capillary. Ostwald viscometers
must be calibrated with a known material.
The Ostwald-Fenske method makes use of
the Hagen-Poiseuille equation for the
determination of liquid viscosities by
measuring the time of flow of a given
volume liquid through a vertical capillary
tube under the influence of gravity. For a
virtually incompressible fluid, this flow is
governed by the Poiseuille’s law in the form
𝒅𝑽 𝝅𝒓𝟒 ∆𝑷
= 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟑
𝒅𝒕 𝟖𝝁𝑳
where dV/dt is the rate of liquid flow
through a cylindrical tube of radius r and
length L, and ΔP is the pressure difference
between two ends of the tube.
When ΔP is constant, equation 3 becomes
𝒕 Methods
𝝁 = 𝝅𝒓𝟒 ∆𝑷 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟒
𝟖𝑽𝑳
where t is the time required for the upper
meniscus of the liquid in the left arm of the
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viscometer to fall from the upper to the
lower fiducial mark.
Equation 4 can be reduced having ΔP is
equal to ρgh:
𝒕
𝝁 = 𝝅𝒓𝟒 𝝆𝒈𝒉 = 𝑨𝝆𝒕 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟓
𝟖𝑽𝑳
where A is a constant for a given viscometer
which can be determined through calibration
with a liquid of known viscosity and density.
METHODOLOGY
Materials
The reagents used in the experiment are
distilled water, ethanol, ethylene glycol, 1-
butanol, NaCl (table salt), and chromic acid.
The following equipment and glassware are
used namely Ostwald-Fenske viscometer,
constant temperature bath, stopwatch, 10-
mL pipettes, and 250-mL beakers.
The experiment is about the determination
of the viscosity of a number of normal
saturated alcohols by means of Ostwald
viscometer. It also tends to determine the
effect of salt concentration on viscosities of
 Experiment No. 4
Measurement of Viscosity of Liquids by Capillary Flow Method

aqueous solutions and of temperature on

viscosity of water.
First, the Ostwald viscometer is needed to be
set up. The apparatus is cleaned with
chromic acid and rinsed with distilled water.
Before starting the measurements of the
viscosities, the viscometer has been
calibrated.
Also, the viscosities of aqueous solutions are
determined. This part will determine the
effect of salt concentration on the viscosities
of aqueous solutions. Three salt solutions
are prepared with different concentrations.
Same procedure is done to each sample for
the use of the viscometer.

The last part of the experiment determines

The viscometer is filled with 10 mL of
liquid sample in the water bath set at a
preferred temperature. The sample must first
reach thermal equilibrium before starting the
measurement of viscosity.
the effect of temperature on the viscosity of
water. Same procedure is done with the use
of the viscometer but each water sample has
different temperature. The temperature is
increased by 5°C from the room temperature
until three water samples are done.

Using one end of the viscometer which has a

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
larger diameter, the rubber bulb is used to
push the liquid sample to the capillary arm. Viscosity of Pure Liquids
The pushing of the liquid sample is
continued until the sample fills the feed bulb
and the meniscus which is above the upper
Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a
fiducial mark.
fluid which is being deformed by either
shear stress or tensile stress. In everyday
terms (and for fluids only), viscosity is
After the pushing of the sample, the liquid is thickness or internal friction.
released and is allowed to flow by its own
weight. The time required for the upper
meniscus of the liquid in the feed bulb in
The experiment made use of the Ostwald
order for it to pass two calibration marks is
viscometer which is based on the principles
recorded.
of flow through capillary tubes. It used three
different pure liquids namely ethanol,
ethylene glycol and 1-butanol.
The same procedure is done with the other
liquid samples (saturated alcohol samples).

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 Experiment No. 4
Measurement of Viscosity of Liquids by Capillary Flow Method
To determine the viscosity of each liquid,
this equation is used:
𝜇 = 𝐴𝜌𝑡
where μ is the viscosity, ρ is the density of
the liquid, t is the time required for the upper
meniscus of the liquid in the left arm of the
viscometer to fall from the upper to the
lower fiducial mark, and A is a constant for
a given viscometer which can be determined
through calibration with a liquid of known
viscosity and density.
The constant A is determined using water
with viscosity of 9.8 x 10 -4 kg/m-s and
density of 1000 kg/m3. Using the equation
above, the constant A can be determined.
The time required by the water to fall from
the upper and lower fiducial mark is 15
seconds. Thus, the constant A is computed
as 5.7 x 10 -8 m2.
The computed A is used to determine the
viscosity of the other three samples of
alcohol. Table 1 shows the results of the
determination of viscosity of pure liquids.
On the three alcohols, ethanol has the
shortest time while ethylene glycol has the
longest time. The densities of ethanol,
ethylene glycol and 1-butanol are 790
kg/m3, 1113.2 kg/m3, and 810 kg/m3
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respectively. Using these values, the
viscosities of the liquids are computed and
determined.
The computed viscosity and the literature
value of viscosity have small percentage of
error. One possible cause of error is the
recording of time. It is very difficult to start
and stop the timer on how the sample liquid
would pass the markers. Another source of
error is the temperature. The viscosity of a
fluid is greatly affected by the temperature.
The effects of temperature to the viscosity
will be discussed on the later part of the
discussion.
Effect of Salt Concentration on Viscosities
of Aqueous Solutions
The experiment tried to investigate the effect
of salt concentration on viscosities of
aqueous solutions. To do so, three different
concentrations (0.20 M, 0.50 M and 1.00 M)
of salt solutions are prepared.
The viscosity of pure water serves as the
basis for the study of the effect of salt
concentration since the salt solutions use
water as the solvent.
When the first concentration is tested in the
Ostwald viscometer, the time it takes for the
solution to pass the upper and lower marks
 Experiment No. 4
Measurement of Viscosity of Liquids by Capillary Flow Method
increases compared to the time of pure
water. With this, the viscosity of water
increases when salt is added.
As the salt concentration of the solutions
increases, the time it takes for the solution to
pass the marks increases based on the results
of the second and third solutions. This
means that salt increases the viscosity of
water.
Temperature Effects on Viscosity of Water
In the discussion of the viscosity of pure
liquids, temperature is a factor that affects
viscosity. In the experiment, the viscosity of
water at different temperatures is
determined.
From the room temperature, the water
temperature is increased by 5°C in every
trial. This part studied the relationship of
viscosity and temperature.
At room temperature, the time taken by the
water to pass the upper and lower fiducial
marks of the viscometer is 15seconds. When
the temperature is increased by 5°C, the
time taken by the water to pass the marks is
12 seconds only. As the temperature keeps
on increasing the time taken by the water to
pass the marks becomes shorter.
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This means that viscosity is inversely
proportional to temperature. As the
temperature of a fluid increases the viscosity
of that fluid decreases.
In the liquids, the cohesive forces between
the molecules predominates the molecular
momentum transfer between the molecules
mainly because the molecules are closely
packed. It is this reason that liquids have
lesser volume than gases. The cohesive
forces are in maximum in solids so the
molecules are even more closely packed in
them. When the liquid is heated the cohesive
forces between the molecules reduce thus
the forces of attraction between them
reduce, which eventually reduces the
viscosity of the liquids.
REFERENCES:
[1] Atkins, P., & De Paula, J. (2006). Atkins'
Physical Chemistry 8th Edition. W.
H. Freeman and Company
[2] Caparanga, A., Baluyut, J. Y., &
Soriano, A. Physical Chemistry Laboratory
Manual, Part 1
[3] www.udel.edu/pchem/C444/Lectures
Lecture3.pdf
[4] http:// library.thinkquest.org/C0112681
/Eng/Normal /Magmas/factors.htm
[5] http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/
mechanical/articles/10873.aspx
 Experiment No. 4
Measurement of Viscosity of Liquids by Capillary Flow Method

APPENDICES
Figure 1. Flow of Some Liquids

Figure 2. Ostwald Viscometer

Table 1. Viscosity of Pure Liquids

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 Experiment No. 4
Measurement of Viscosity of Liquids by Capillary Flow Method

Flow time through Calculated Literature value

Sample
Ostwald viscometer, s viscosity of viscosity
Water 15 .85 cp .85 cp
Ethanol 22 .99 cp .95 cp
Ethylene glycol 223 14.14 cp 15 cp
1-Butanol 53 2.44 cp 2.3 cp

Room Temperature: 32°C

Table 2. Effect of Salt Concentration on Viscosities of Aqueous Solutions

NaCl Flow time through Calculated

concentration Ostwald viscometer, s viscosity
0 15 .85 cp
0.20 M 16 .91 cp
0.50 M 17 .96 cp
1.00 M 18 1.02 cp

Table 3. Temperature Effects on Viscosity of Water

Flow time through Calculated

Temperature
Ostwald viscometer, s viscosity
Room temp. (29°C) 14 .85 cp
Room temp. + 5°C 12 .72 cp
Room temp. + 10°C 11 .66 cp
Room temp. + 15°C 10 .60 cp

Sample Computation:

Water at 32°C:

𝜇 = 𝐴𝜌𝑡

𝑘𝑔
.𝑠
(. 85 𝑐𝑝)(0.001 𝑚 )
𝜇 𝑐𝑝
𝐴= = = 𝟓. 𝟕𝒙 𝟏𝟎−𝟖 𝒎𝟐
𝜌𝑡 (995.026)(15)

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 Experiment No. 4
Measurement of Viscosity of Liquids by Capillary Flow Method

Ethanol:

𝜇 = 𝐴𝜌𝑡 =

Salt Concentration (0.20 M):

𝜇 = 𝐴𝜌𝑡 =

Temperature (at 29°C + 15°C):

𝜇 = 𝐴𝜌𝑡 =

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