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Mechanics of Fluids

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and the passage <strong>of</strong> the liquid level between two marks M1 and M2 is timed.<br />

It is difficult to determine accurately the dimensions <strong>of</strong> the capillary section<br />

and there are, moreover, surface tension effects and end effects that are<br />

not negligible: this viscometer must therefore be calibrated with a liquid <strong>of</strong><br />

known viscosity.<br />

6.6.2 Industrial viscometers<br />

Several instruments are in industrial and technical use for measuring viscosity<br />

– particularly the viscosity <strong>of</strong> oils – and most require the measurement<br />

<strong>of</strong> the time taken by a certain quantity <strong>of</strong> the liquid to flow through a short<br />

capillary tube. In many viscometers this capillary tube is so short that it is<br />

more like an orifice, and in any case fully developed laminar flow is scarcely<br />

achieved before the liquid reaches the end <strong>of</strong> the capillary. Thus Poiseuille’s<br />

formula does not strictly apply. The rate <strong>of</strong> flow does not bear a simple<br />

relation to the viscosity and so such a viscometer requires calibration with<br />

a liquid <strong>of</strong> known viscosity.<br />

In Great Britain the Redwood viscometer is widely used; America favours<br />

the Saybolt viscometer; Germany and other Continental countries the Engler.<br />

These instruments differ in detail but not in principle and it is sufficient<br />

to refer to the Redwood instrument – invented by Sir Boverton Redwood<br />

(1846–1919) – as typical <strong>of</strong> its kind.<br />

The measurement <strong>of</strong> viscosity 211<br />

Fig. 6.14 Redwood No. 1<br />

viscometer.

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