Redwood Viscometer Laboratory test

Introduction

Viscosity: It is a measure of the resistance offered by one layer of fluid to the other layer of the same
fluid during motion. It is expressed in units as Pa.s or centistokes.

Viscosity of a fluid expresses its resistance to shearing flows, where adjacent layers move parallel to
each other with different speeds.

Figure 1: Typical velocity profile in the boundary layer indicating shear stress and velocity gradient.

Mathematically, viscosity is represented as

The above formulation represents dynamic viscosity (also known as absolute viscosity) whose unit is
generally expressed as Pa.s (Pascal-second). However, in most of the flow and combustion systems,
kinematic viscosity is taken as a typical fluid characteristic.

Kinematic viscosity is defined as the ratio between dynamic viscosity and density. Mathematically,
The unit of kinematic viscosity is expressed as m 2/s. The typical unit is Stokes. One stoke is 1 cm 2/s.
The kinematic viscosity of typical engine fuels is in the order of Centistokes or cSt (1 centistokes =
0.01 stokes). The kinematic viscosity of some selected petroleum and alternative fuels such as
gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, methanol, ethanol are 0.88cSt, 2-5 cSt, 5-7 cSt, 0.65 cSt, 0.85 cSt etc.
respectively at 40⁰ C.

Objective:

To determine the viscosity of an oil sample expressed as time of flow in Redwood seconds at the
specified temperatures and determination of experimental repeatability.

Apparatus and consumables required:

a) Redwood viscometer apparatus.

b) Thermometer of suitable range.
c) Stop watch.
d) Collecting flask.
e) Oil sample.

Methodology and procedure

Redwood Viscometer is normally used for the determination of the viscosity of petroleum products.
Redwood Viscometer determines the viscosity in terms of seconds (Redwood seconds), a time taken
by oil to pass through a standard orifice, and collection of the same oil in 50 cc flask.

Redwood Viscometer is of two types:

1. Redwood Viscometer No.1 (For fluid having viscosity corresponds to Redwood seconds less than
2000)
2. Redwood Viscometer No. 2 ( For fluid having viscosity corresponds to Redwood seconds greater
than 2000) or Redwood Viscometer No. 1 & 2 is used depending on the time of oil flow through an
orifice at the desired temperature is greater or less than 2000 seconds. Normally viscosity of highly
viscous fluids is determined by the use of Redwood Viscometer 2.

The difference between Redwood Viscometer 1 & 2 is the difference of orifice diameter.

Formula to convert Redwood seconds to kinematic viscosity unit i.e. centistokes.

 = At-B/t  (Where A = 0.26 and B = 171).

The absolute viscosity is found by measuring the density of the fluid whose viscosity is being
measured. Thus,
Absolute Viscosity = Kinematic Viscosity x Density

Mode of operation

a) The flow time measurements for petroleum products should be made at temperatures of 21⁰ C,
37.8⁰ C, 60⁰ C, 93⁰ C, 121⁰ C, 149⁰ C and 204⁰ C.
b) For fuel oils, the minimum temperature is 49⁰ C. For flux oils (A thick, relatively nonvolatile
fraction of petroleum) the temperature should be 83⁰ C.
c) For oil samples with Redwood seconds less than 2000, Redwood No.1 is recommended. For
highly viscous fluids with greater than 2000 Redwood seconds, Redwood No.2 is recommended.

General procedure

a) Clean the oil cup with a suitable solvent such as carbon tetrachloride and dry it thoroughly by
using soft tissue paper or some similar material which will not leave any fluff and clean the jet
hole with any fine thread.
 Figure 1: Graphical sketch of Redwood viscometer

b) Fill the bath with water for determination at temperature 93⁰ C or below. For higher temperatures,
suitable oil of low viscosity may be used instead of water.
c) Bath should be filled to a level not less than 10 ml below the rim of oil cup at the test temperature.
d) Pour the test oil into the cup up to the tip of indicator.
e) Place a clean dry Kohlrausch flask immediately below and directly in line with discharging jet.
f) Insert a clean thermometer and a stirrer in the cup and cover it with a lid.
g) Heat the water filled in the bath slowly with constant stirring. When the oil in the cup attains a
desired temperature stop the heating.
h) Lift the ball valve and start the stop watch. Oil from the jet flows into the flask.
i) Stop the stop watch when lower meniscus of the oil reaches the 50 ml mark on the neck of
receiving flask.
j) Record the time taken for 50 ml of the oil to collect in the flask.
k) Repeat the experiment to get more readings
.
Results
a) The viscosity of a given sample using Redwood viscometer should be denoted with Redwood
seconds at the specified temperature.
b) Repeatability of the experiments should be duly compared at low and high temperatures.
c) Convert the Redwood seconds to kinematic viscosity unit i.e. centistokes (cSt) with the empirical
formulation
. cSt = At-B/t  (Where A = 0.26 and B = 171).