General Ways to Measure Viscosity
Before the begining of the 20th Century, in the 1800's, the first measurements of vicsosity were made using capillary tube methods. Start with that the following is a brief summary of the different techniques/instruments that have been developed and are in use today.
Capillary Viscometer
The earliest methods for measuring viscosity were based on using capillary tubes and measuring the time it took for a volume of liquid to pass through the length of the tube. These developments were in place before the turn of the 20th century and are known as Ostwald or Ubbelohde viscometers.
Zahn Cup
Similar to this method is the Zahn Cup, which is a small container with a handle and a small hole in the bottom. The time it takes to empty the cup through the hole is correlated to viscosity. The Zahn cup is often used in the paint industry.
Falling Sphere Viscometer
Another technique is the Falling Sphere Viscometer, in which a sphere of known density is dropped into the fluid sample and the time it takes for the sphere to fall to a specified point is recorded. This method has been used on ships to monitor the quality of the fuel going into the ship’s engine. A similar product is the Falling Piston Viscometer.
Vibrational Viscometer
Vibrational Viscometers measure the damping of an oscillating electromechanical resonator immersed in a fluid. This technique is often used in-process to give continuous readings in a product stream, batch vessel, or in other process applications.
Rotational Viscometer
The rotational viscometer measures the torque required to turn an object in a fluid as a function of that fluid’s viscosity. This method is frequently used in quality control and production laboratories.
