VBW - High-Viscosity Fluids

Home

Viscosity

High-Viscosity Fluids

Method employed

A novel Vibrating-Wire Viscometer (VBW) has been developed for the measurement of the viscosity of high-viscosity liquids, 5-100 mPa s. According to this technique, a vertical wire, constrained not to move at its two ends, is placed in the fluid. If an oscillation is initiated by the displacement of the wire from its equilibrium position then, following a short-lived initial transient, the motion will conform to a damped, simple harmonic motion, characteristic of the viscosity of the fluid. The motion resembles the movement of a quitar string.

thw

The actual instrument employs a 300μm-diameter 50mm-length tungsten wire fixed at both ends. Two permanent samarium-cobalt magnets, placed around the wire, are employed for the electromagnetic initiation of the oscillations as well as for their detection.< br /> Following initiation of the motion, the signal induced in the vibrating wire is observed with a bridge in which the wire forms one arm. The out-of-balance signal, amplified by 30,000 times, is then observed with an A/D converter coupled to a microcomputer at a rate of 50 kHz with a resolution of 12 bits.
The logarithmic decrement and the frequency of oscillation, are then obtained from the recorded data with the aid of a non-linear least squares fitting procedure, and from them the viscosity is obtained by a full theoretical analysis.

Ranges & uncertainties

Liquids - Present instruments cover the following ranges:
- Pressure: 0.1 to 400 bars
- Temperature: -70 to +100 'C
- Uncertainty: 0.5%

Systems sudied so far

Selected papers:
Assael M.J., and Mylona S.K, “A Novel Vibrating-Wire Instrument for the Measurement of the Viscosity of High-Viscosity Fluids”, J. Chem. Engin. Data (2013) DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1021/je301306e
Comuñas M.J.P., Paredes X., Gaciño F., Fernández J., Bazile J.P., Boned C., Daridon J.L., Galliero D.G., Pauly J., Harris K., Assael M.J., and Mylona S.K., “Reference Correlation of the Viscosity of Squalane from 273 to 373 K at 0.1 MPa”, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 42:033101:1-6 (2013). DOI: 10.1063/1.4812573
Mylona S.K., Assael M.J., Antoniadis K.D., Polymatidou S.K., Karagiannidis L., “Measurements of the Viscosity of Bis(2-ethylhexyl) Sebacate, Squalane, and Bis(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate between (283 to 358) K at 0.1 MPa”, J. Chem. Eng. Data 58:2805-2808 (2013) DOI: 10.1021/je4005245
Mylona S.K., Assael M.J., Comunas M.J.P., Paredes X., Gacino F.M., Fernandez J., Bazile J.P., Boned C., Daridon J.L., Galliero G., Pauly J., and Harris K., “Reference Correlation for the Density and Viscosity of Squalane from 273 to 473 K at pressures up to 200 MPa”, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 43: 013104:1-11 (2014). DOI: 10.1063/1.4863984
Gaciño F., Comuñas M.J.P.,, Fernández J., Mylona S., and Assael M.J., "Correlation and Prediction of Dense Fluid Transport Coefficients. IX. Ionic Liquids", Int. J. Thermophys. 35,812-829 (2014). DOI: 10.1007/s10765-014-1626-0