By Dal Singh

Viscometers are basically devices that measure the viscosity of a liquid, or its internal friction level. When a single fluid layer is made to move against another layer, the fluid friction level becomes clear. The higher the friction, the larger would be the force required to cause the movement. Shearing is a process that takes place when the liquid is moved or distributed physically when it is mixed, sprayed, spread or poured. Fluids that are highly viscous would need greater force in order to move.

Why Do Industries Measure Viscosity?
Viscometers are used by a large number of industries today to measure a fluid’s viscosity. For a product to be useful, its characteristic and nature has to be maintained. Grease liquefies because of the high temperature levels in machine shops and may not stick to the surface as needed. For this reason, grease manufacturers will need to know various viscosity rates in proportion to the temperature at which it is tested. Using a measurement device will help them create products that will satisfy their customers better and would be consistent in quality. Viscosity data is often used for observing other characteristics of the material. When compared to some other properties, it is easier to measure viscosity. For this reason it is a very significant tool for material characterization.

Viscosity and Temperature
One of the main factors which can have a lot of effect on the rheological behavior of a material is temperature. Many substances may be sensitive to changes at different temperatures. Small variations in temperature may result in high changes in viscosity of the material. There are several other substances which may not be sensitive to temperature at all. Having knowledge about the viscosity of various materials is important for processing plants dealing with motor oil. Adhesives and grease are two other products for which the use of viscometers is very important. Larger molecules or particles tend to transfer from layer to layer for release a considerable amount of input energy. The result is that more energy will have to be put into it for maintaining the required turbulent flow.

Caution will also have to be taken when distinguishing between dilatant flow behavior and turbulent flow conditions. In most cases, dilatant materials portray viscosity that tends to increase with increasing shear rate. Turbulent flow is normally portrayed through sudden increase in the viscosity of the substance over a specified shear rate. Below that point, the flow behavior of that material can be non-Newtonian or Newtonian. Using a measuring device for keeping a track of the viscosity of a material would be important for several different industries to maintain high quality. Thus, viscometers tend to be used widely across various industries today.