Soren University

Faculty of engineering
Petroleum engineering department
Third stage

Determination of viscosity for crude oil and

petroleum products

Prepared By:
Hadi Bapir Sleman
Zana Qader Mahmud
Shabaz Ahmad khidr
Dyar Abdullah

Supervised By: Prof. Ibtisam

2015-2016

Table of Content
1. Abstract: ...................................................................................................................................... 2
2. Purpose:....................................................................................................................................... 2
3. Introduction: ................................................................................................................................ 2
3.1 Types of viscosity: ................................................................................................................ 2
3.1.1Dynamic (absolute) viscosity: ....................................................................................... 3
3.1.2Kinematic viscosity ............................................................................................................. 4
3.2 Types of viscometer: ............................................................................................................. 5
3.3 Importance of viscosity: ........................................................................................................ 8
4. Materials & Equipment & glassware: ......................................................................................... 8
5. PROCEDURE:............................................................................................................................ 9
6. Calculation: ............................................................................................................................... 10
7. Discussion: ................................................................................................................................ 11
8. Conclusion: ............................................................................................................................... 11
9. References: ................................................................................................................................ 12

1. Abstract:
This report includes the determination of crude oil and petroleum product viscosity. And also
contain the definition of some type of viscosity and define the apparatus that used for
measurement viscosity it is called viscometer, include some calculation and some rules which
can be used for viscosity calculation, and also contain the measurement of viscosity by using the
compound with known viscosity. Also it contain some equation to correlate a relation between
dynamic and kinematic viscosity ,describes the Ostwald method in which Ostwald viscometer is
used to measure some property of diesel oil like viscosity .

2. Purpose:
The purpose of this experiment is to determine the viscosity of diesel oil by known the viscosity
of water.

3. Introduction:
Viscosity is an important fluid property when analyzing liquid behavior and fluid motion near
solid boundaries. Viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to gradual deformation by
shear stress or tensile stress. The shear resistance in a fluid is caused by inter molecular friction
exerted when layers of fluid attempt to slide by one another. Viscosity is the measure of a fluid's
resistance to flow, molasses is highly viscous, water is medium viscous and gas is low viscous.
There are two related measures of fluid viscosity

3.1 Types of viscosity:

dynamic (or absolute)

kinematic

3.1.1Dynamic (absolute) viscosity:

Coefficient of absolute viscosity - is a measure of internal resistance. Dynamic (absolute)
viscosity is the tangential force per unit area required to move one horizontal plane with respect
to another plane - at an unit velocity - when maintaining an unit distance apart in the fluid.
The shearing stress between the layers of a non-turbulent fluid moving in straight parallel lines
can be defined for a Newtonian fluid as

Figure (1): velocity profile

= /

(1)

Where
= shearing stress (N/m2)
= dynamic viscosity (N s/m2)
dc = unit velocity (m/s)
dy = unit distance between layers (m)
Equation (1) is known as the Newton's Law of Friction.
In the SI system the dynamic viscosity units are N s/m2, Pa s or kg/(m s) - where
3

1 Pa s = 1 N s/m2 = 1 kg/(m s)
Dynamic viscosity may also be expressed in the metric CGS (centimeter-gram-second) system
as g/(cm s), dyne s/cm2 or poise (p) where
1 poise = 1 dyne s/cm2 = 1 g/(cm s) = 1/10 Pa s = 1/10 N s/m2
For practical use the Poise is normally too large and the unit is often divided by 100 - into the
smaller unit centipoises (cP) - where
1 P = 100 cP
1 cP = 0.01 poise = 0.01 gram per cm second = 0.001 Pascal second = 1 milliPascal second =
0.001 N s/m2
Water at 20.2oC (68.4oF) has the absolute viscosity of one - 1 - centiPoise.

3.1.2Kinematic viscosity: is the ratio of - absolute (or dynamic) viscosity to density - a quantity in
which no force is involved. Kinematic viscosity can be obtained by dividing the absolute viscosity of a
fluid with the fluid mass density.

......................... (2)

where

= kinematic viscosity (m2/s)

= absolute or dynamic viscosity (N s/m2)
= density (kg/m3)
In the SI-system the theoretical unit of kinematic viscosity is m2/s - or Stoke (St) where
1 St (Stokes) = 10-4 m2/s = 1 cm2/s
Since the Stoke is a large unit it is often divided by 100 into the smaller unit Centistoke (cSt) where
4

1 St = 100 cSt
1 cSt (centiStoke) = 10-6 m2/s = 1 mm2/s
The specific gravity for water at 20.2oC (68.4oF) is almost one, and the kinematic viscosity for
water at 20.2oC (68.4oF) is for practical purpose 1.0 mm2/s (cStokes). A more exact kinematic
viscosity for water at 20.2oC (68.4oF) is 1.0038 mm2/s (cStokes).

A conversion from absolute to kinematic viscosity in Imperial units can be expressed as

= .

. (3)

Where
= kinematic viscosity (ft2/s)
= absolute or dynamic viscosity (cP)
= specific weight (lb/ft3)
3.2 Types of viscometer:
There are different types of viscometer Oswald viscometer, falling sphere viscometer, falling
piston viscometer, oscillating piston viscometer, vibrational viscometer, rotational viscometer
and bubble viscometer. Ostwald viscometer which is most common used viscometer also known
as U-tube viscometer or capillary viscometer is a device used to measure the viscosity of the
liquid with a known density. The method of determining viscosity with this instrument consists
of measuring the time for a known volume of the liquid (the volume contained between the
marks A and B) to flow through the capillary under the influence of gravity. Ostwald
viscometers named after the German chemist Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932).

The instrument must first be calibrated with materials of known viscosity such as pure
(deionized) water. Knowing the value of viscosity of one liquid, one can calculate the viscosity
of other liquid.

. (4)

Where 1 and 2 are viscosity coefficients of the liquid and water, and 1 and 2 are the densities
of liquid and water, respectively.

Figure (2): U- tube viscometer

Image for U- tube Viscometer: Reverse flow viscometer, canon fenske viscometer for
transparent liquid, Canon Fenskea viscometer for opaque liquid, Suspended level Type with or
without calibration certificate.
These devices are also known as glass capillary viscometers orOstwald viscometers.

Features:

Suspended level Type

With or without Calibration Certificate

Figure (3): Cannon Fenske Routine Viscometer for Transparent Liquid

Features:
High accuracy
Stability
Easy operation

3.3 Importance of viscosity:

Liquid viscosities are needed by process engineers for quality control, while design engineers
need the property for fixing the optimum conditions for the chemical processes and operations as
well as for the determination of the important dimensionless groups like the Reynolds number
and Prandtl number. Liquid viscosity is also important in the calculation of the power
requirements for the unit operations such as mixing, pipeline design.

4. Materials & Equipment & glassware:

Equipment: Electrical balance, Stop watch, Ostwald viscometer, pipette filler
Chemical: Diesel oil, water.
Glassware: wash bottle, pycnometer, pipette
Stop watch accurate to at least 0.1s 250ml

Figure (5): Typical U-tube viscometer

5. PROCEDURE:
1-Determine the density of water and diesel oil by the following steps:
For water:

Weight the pycnometer when it is empty

Fill the pycnometer with water and Weight it

Determine the weight = Wpycnometer when empty Wpycnometer with water

Volume of water = volume of pycnometer

And then determine the density of water by this equation

For oil: Repeat the same steps.

2- Determine To and Tw (time is needed for flowing the water or oil from one point to another
point in the U-tube viscometer).Repeat this step many time to get some (t) of oil and water and
then find the (T average) for oil and water.
3- Then by this equation determine the viscosity of the oil

Note: This experiment was done in the lab over diesel oil but procedure for all of other refinery
products and liquids is the same.

6. Calculation:
Result:
Weight of the pycnometer (empty) = 28.45 g
Volume of the pycnometer = 100 cc
Weight of the water = 128.96 28.45 = 100.51 g
Weight of the diesel = 110.24 28.45 = 81.79 g

Toil =
Tw =

=
=

37.4+37.8+37.1
3

= 37.4

17.5+13.73+12.61
3

= 14.6

First we have to find the density of the liquid (oil, water)

81.79

= = 100 = 0.81793

100.51
= = 100 = 1.0051

Then we have to find the kinematic viscosity of the oil using the following equation

Then the kinematic viscosity of the oil will be as following:

10

(0.8179)(37.4)
(1.0051)(14.6)

(1) = 2 St

Now the absolute viscosity can be easily calculated from the following equation:
=

= = 2 0.8179 = 1.6 Poise

7. Discussion:
The viscosity of the diesel oil is about 1.6 poise, the time require to flow the oil from one point to
another is higher than the time of water that is needed for flowing it from one pint to another
because of the viscosity of oil is greater than the viscosity of water .Measuring time for oil and
water has some error because of the some bubble in oil and water. So instated measuring one
time, several times must be measured to calculate the average time between them. The relation
between viscosity and temperature is inversely proportional, so by increasing the temperature the
viscosity is decrease.

8. Conclusion:
Crude oil is the complex mixture, it have some properties that they can easily correlated to each
other. The major distinction is that the sample being measured is on the outside of a hydrometer,
but on the inside of a pycnometer.
Another distinction is that a pycnometer requires the use of an accurate scale, but a hydrometer
does not. Measuring the density from the hydrometer is more accurate than the pycnometer
The pycnometer method is more accurate than the hydrometer method because it uses an
analytical balance.

11

9. References:
1-http://www.brighthubengineering.com/fluid-mechanics-hydraulics/83996-viscosity-measurementequipment/
2- http://www.britannica.com/science/viscosity
3- http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/dynamic-absolute-kinematic-viscosity-d_412.html
4-http://petrowiki.org/Oil_viscosity

12