MODULE IV

MEASUREMENTS OF DENSITY,
SPECIFIC GRAVITY AND
VISCOSITY OF LIQUID
 INTRODUCTION

The properties of common liquids, gases, and vapors have been the
subject of lifelong investigation by many competent experimentalists; hence
the required information is usually available from reference tables and charts.
In the intimate mixing and vaporization of liquid fuel and air for proper
combustion, the volatility, viscosity, density and other properties of the fuel
are important. The ASTM has numerous standards which apply to petroleum
products.
Density measurements of a liquid must often be made for
identification, classification, or checking of purity. Viscosity measurement is
also a common requirement. With the density and the viscosity determined at
one or more temperatures, other properties of the liquid can usually be found
from published tables or charts.

OBJECTIVES

After studying the module, you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge about the different methods of measuring density,
specific gravity and viscosity of liquid.

2. Explain the SAE numbers and viscosity index oil.

3. Determine the degrees API and Baume of an oil of different temperatures.

4. Suggest other simple methods that may be used to measure specific gravity.
 LESSON 1. MEASUREMENT OF DENSITY AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF LIQUID

Density is defined by as the mass per unit volume. Specific gravity of a

liquid is defined as the ratio of the weights of equal volumes of the liquid to
that of distilled water at a specified standard temperature usually 60°F. The
density of a liquid is determined by pycnometer or specific gravity bottle
method, hydrostatic weighing, hydrometer, or Westphal balance.

The density of a substance is usually described in two forms -- the mass

density (ρ) and the weight density (D). Still, there is another method of
expressing the density of a substance— specific gravity. The specific gravity of
a liquid is a comparison of the density of that liquid with the density of water,
which is 1.00 g/mL (4°C). Specific gravity is a number with no units; the units
of density (g/mL) have cancelled out. This is one of the few measurements in
chemistry written without any units.

Density or specific gravity is a fundamental physical property that can

be used in conjunction with other properties to characterize both the light and
heavy fractions of petroleum and petroleum products. Accurate determination
of the density of petroleum products is also necessary for the conversion of
measured volumes to volumes at the standard temperature of 15°C (60°F).
While density is the factor governing the quality of crude petroleum, it is an
uncertain indication of petroleum product quality unless correlated with other
properties.

American Petroleum Institute (API) found it convenient to create a new

unit, the eponymous API gravity. The API gravity is nothing more than the
standard specific gravity used by the oil industry, which compares the density
of oil to that of water through a calculation designed to ensure consistency in
measurement. Less dense oil or “light oil” is preferable to more dense oil as it
contains greater quantities of hydrocarbons that can be converted to gasoline.

Measurement Methods

A number of methods in determining the specific gravity of liquids have been

devised by international institutes such as the ASTM and API. Two methods are commonly
used for determining the specific gravities of liquids:

Pycnometers Method. Density determination by pycnometer is a very precise

method. It uses a working liquid with well-known density, such as water. The pycnometer
is a glass flask with a close- fitting ground glass stopper with a capillary hole through it.
This fine hole releases a spare liquid after closing a top-filled pycnometer and allows
for obtaining a given volume of measured and/or working liquid with a high accuracy.

Pycnometer is a small glass container used to

measure weight of liquids and other fine solids,
maintaining a constant volume. In this experiment,
water and the sample liquids were weighed in order to
determine the samples’ specific gravity by dividing the
weight of the sample liquid to the weight of water

List of Apparatus

1. Pycnometer
2. Digital balance
3. Thermometeter
Procedure. The method of use according to ASTM Standards D-1217 are the ff.:

1. Clean the pycnometer bottle and weigh it on the

analytical balance and designate the weight as Wp.
2. Fill the bottle with freshly boiled distilled water at
60°F, and weigh using Wpw as the designation.
3. Clean the pycnometer, and follow the above procedure
again for the samples to be tested (SAE, Alcohol,
Diesel, Gasoline, and Kerosene) call the weight of the
sample as Wpo.
4. Compute the specific gravity using the pycnometer
method equation for specific gravity.

Sample data sheet of experiment conducted is presented below.

Note: SAE 10 – 0.92, SAE 50 – 0.896, Alcohol – 0.79, Diesel – 0.82 – 0.95, Gasoline
– 0.72, Kerosene – 0.82

Sample Computations

Determination of Specific Gravity

Pycnometer Method
Liquid Sample: Alcohol
 Hydrometer Method. The second method is the hydrometer method.
According to the ASTM D 1298, the sample is brought to the prescribed
temperature and transferred to a cylinder at approximately the same
temperature. The appropriate hydrometer is lowered into the sample and
allowed to settle. After temperature equilibrium has been reached, the
hydrometer scale is read, and the temperature of the sample is noted. If
necessary, the cylinder and its contents may be placed in a constant
temperature bath to avoid excessive temperature variation during the test. The
hydrometer operates on the buoyancy principle. This principle, paraphrased,
states that when the weight of the volume of fluid displace is the same as the
weight of the object which displace it, the object will neither sink nor rise, but
will float in equilibrium. The depth to which the hydrometer sinks in a given
liquid is a function of the specific gravity of that liquid.

The density of all substances varies as a function of temperature.

Consider water as an example. Water attains its maximum density (1 gm/cm 3)
at +4°C, this will be considered as its reference temperature for all values of
specific gravity, unless otherwise specified. Since the volume of a substance
changes with temperature, but the mass remains fixed, it follows that the
density of a substance also changes with temperature. A given value of specific
gravity for a particular substance, therefore, applies at only one temperature.
One further point is that if a substance is readily compressible (such as a gas or
other light liquids), the density will change radically as a function of pressure.
The term specific gravity, therefore, must include both temperature and
pressure specifications when applied to a gas.

In addition to the determination of other correlated properties of crude

oil, knowledge of specific gravity is especially important for the petroleum
industry. When crude oil is taken from the ground, refineries separate the crude
into tar, kerosene, gasoline, hydraulic oil and many other compounds. The
knowledge of specific gravities and boiling points allows refineries to separate
these compounds efficiently. But values of specific
gravity vary widely, and the
Hydrometers are made with two standard
scales. One is the ordinary specific gravity
scale graduated to correspond to the
determinations of specific gravity as
defined for determinations with the specific
gravity bottle. The other is an arbitrary one known as
Baume’s and is much used by trade’s people. For
short, it is often called the “gravity” scale. The oil
industry has adopted the Baume scale specified by the
API, but some hydrometers are graduated according to
the Baume scale specified by the National
Bureau of Standards. Equations for
converting the readings of either hydrometer to specific gravity are:
 API scale:

Bureau of Standards scale:

Procedure:

1. Clean the hydrometer and the graduated cylinder.

2. Pour the liquid (SAE 10 and SAE 50) to be tested inside the graduated cylinder.
3. Drop slowly the hydrometer inside the graduated cylinder.
4. Read the value in the hydrometer.
The depth of immersion is then read as follows:
If the sample is
sufficiently transparent, this point shall
be determined by placing the eye
slightly below the level of the liquid and
slowly raising it until the surface of the
sample first seen as a distorted ellipse
seems to become a straight line cutting
the hydrometer scale. For
nontransparent

liquids, it will be necessary to read from above the surface and to estimate
as accurately as possible the point to which the liquid rises on the hydrometer
stem.

List of Apparatus

1. Hydrometer
2. Graduated Cylinder
3. Thermometer
 A sample data sheet of expirement conducted is presented below:

Note: SAE 10 – 0.92, SAE 50 – 0.896, Alcohol – 0.79, Diesel – 0.82 – 0.95, Gasoline –
0.72, Kerosene – 0.82

Sample Computations
Hydrometer Method

Liquid Sample: Alcohol

Hydrometer Reading: 0.79

 LESSON 2. MEASUREMENT OF VISCOSITY

Viscosity

Fluid flow plays a very important part in the processing of materials.

Most processes are based on the use of fluids either as raw materials, reagents,
or heat transfer media. The behavior of a fluid in flow is very much related to
viscosity. For example, a solid body moving through a gas has to overcome a
certain resistance which depends on the relative velocity between fluid and
solid, the shape of the solid, the density of the gas and its viscosity. The power
required to move a fluid through a conduit is a function of the fluid velocity,
the diameter of the conduit and the fluid density and viscosity.
The existence and nature of viscosity can be demonstrated by suspending
two horizontal, parallel plates in a liquid so that they are separated by a very
small distance. Now, if the upper plate is kept stationary while the lower plate
is set to motion, the layer of liquid right next to this plate will also start to
move. With time, the motion of the bottom layer of fluid will cause the fluid
layers higher up to also move.

Measurement Methods. In general, viscosity is the property of a homogeneous

fluid which causes it to offer resistance to motion. In the case of a liquid,
viscosity is a measure of relative fluidity at some definite temperature. This
property may be measures in several ways, for example (1) by the torque
required to rotate a cylinder or cup in the liquid, as in the Mac-Michael and
Stormer instruments used for oils and viscous liquids; (2) by the time required
for a sphere (usually a steel ball) to fall through the liquid, as in the Gardner
Holdt instrument used for paints and other highly viscous liquids; or (3) by the
time required for the liquid to flow through a capillary or a short tube as the or
a short tube as the Saybolt, Engler, and Redwood Saybolt, Engler, and Redwood
viscometer used for pe viscometer used for petroleum oils.

A number of methods are used to measure the viscosity of fluids. These

are typically based on one of three phenomena—a moving surface in contact
with a fluid, an object moving through a fluid, and fluid flowing through a
resistive component. These phenomena utilize three major viscometers in the
industry, i.e., a rotating viscometer, a falling-ball viscometer, and a capillary
viscometer. The falling ball viscometer typically measures the viscosity of
Newtonian liquids and gases. The method applies Newton’s law of motion under
force balance on a falling sphere ball when it reaches a terminal velocity. In
Newton’s law of motion for a falling ball, there exist buoyancy force, weight
force, and drag force, and these three forces reach a net force of zero.

Falling ball viscometer. The falling ball viscometer is well-suited for measuring
the viscosity of a fluid, and the method has been stated in international
standards. The standards describe an inclined-tube method in which the tube
for the falling ball was inclined at 10° to the vertical. Moreover, six balls were
used with different diameters for various dynamic viscosity measurement
ranges, and a suitable ball can be selected when the fall times of the ball are
not lower than the minimum fall times recorded during a testing procedure. The
rolling and sliding movement of the ball through the sample liquid are at times
in an inclined cylindrical measuring tube. The sample viscosity correlates with
the time required by the ball to drop a specific distance, and the test results
are given as dynamic viscosity. Although the falling ball method has been
well developed and is stated in the international standards, it is somewhat
inconvenient to operate this type of viscometer. For example, the viscometer
requires six different diameter balls to measure a varying range of viscosities,
and the user must run tests to select a suitable ball. Moreover, it is difficult to
determine where the falling ball arrives at the terminal velocity, i.e., whether
the distance between the beginning record line and the starting fall position is
sufficient.

Schematic diagram of a falling sphere viscometer

Viscosity is one of the most important properties of a fluid and plays a

prominent role in the petroleum industry. The viscosity of crude oil affects our
ability to pump it out of the ground; the viscosity and volatility of a fuel affects
how easy it is to atomize in the fuel injector the viscosity of a lubricant affects
its ability to protect an engine. It is an important measurement characteristic
in the food, paint, polymer coating and other industries where flow is a critical
product or use characteristic.

Small changes in viscosity can have a dramatic impact on the properties

of petroleum fluids. The criticality of kinematic viscosity measurement
prompted the petroleum industry to develop a precise method, first published
in 1937, ASTM D445, Test Method for Kinematic Viscosity of Transparent and
Opaque Liquids. The term “kinematic” simply means that the measurement is
made while fluid is flowing under the force of gravity. It is determined by
measuring the time it takes for a volume of fluid to flow under gravity through
 a calibrated glass capillary viscometer. Although it sounds simple, achieving the
high accuracy and precision required by the industry is an extremely formidable
task. There are many factors that affect the precision of this test method.

In the falling sphere viscometer, the liquid is placed in a tall transparent

cylinder and a sphere of known weight and diameter is dropped in it. If the
sphere is small enough, Stokes’ Law will prevail and the fall velocity of the
sphere will be approximately inversely proportional to the absolute viscosity of
the liquid. That is so may be seen by examining the free-body diagram of such
a falling sphere.

Free Body Diagram

The force acting includes the gravity, buoyancy, and drag. Stokes’ law states that if

DV / v < 1, the drag force on a sphere is given by:

where V is the velocity of the sphere and D is its diameter. When the sphere is dropped in
a liquid, it will quickly accelerate to popped in a liquid, it will quickly accelerate to
terminal velocity, at which

Then

Where and represent the specific weight and the sphere and liquid, respectively.
Solving the above equation, we get

In the preceding development it was assumed that the was assumed that the sphere
was dropped into a liquid of infinite extent. In actuality, the liquid will be contained in a
tube and a wall effect will influence the drag force and hence the fall velocity. It has been
found that the wall effect can be expressed approximately as

Where

Dt = the tube diameter

Vt= represents the fall velocity in the tube.

This equation is reliable only if

List of Apparatus

1. Falling sphere viscometer

2. Stop watches
3. Thermometer
4. Caliper
5. Steel balls
6. Meter stick

Procedure
Spheres of known weight and diameter were dropped in a cylinder
containing a sample liquid. The height of the cylinder was known to be 1 m. The
time required for the sphere to travel a certain distance was recorded. The
viscosity can be computed using the equation derived.
1. Determine the temperature and specific gravity of the liquid whose viscosity is
desired.
2. Drop cautiously one of the spheres into the viscometer noting whether the sphere is
guided correctly or is off-centered.
 3. Determine the time required for the sphere to travel the certain distance.
4. Repeat the procedure for each sphere given.

Sample Data Sheet. A sample data sheet experiment conducted is presented below:

DETERMINATION OF VISCOSITY BY FALLING VISCOSIMETER

SG of the Glycerin: 1.24 Length: 1 m Dt : 63.38 mm

Sample Computations
 ME 144 ME Laboratory 1
EXPERIMENT NO. 05
MEASUREMENT OF DENSITY

I. Objective:
1. To be able to familiarize the different density measuring instruments.
2. To understand the principle of operation of the density measuring
instruments.
3. To know how to use the hydrometer with different scale

II. Theory and Analysis:

Discuss the history, principle of operation, use and importance of hydrometer in
the industry.
III. Equipment, Instruments and Apparatuses:
List down all equipment, instruments and apparatuses used in this experiment.

III. Drawing/Set up:

Make an actual drawing of the instruments, apparatuses, and equipments used
in this experiment.. Label its parts, specify its specifications, give a brief
description and discuss its function in the experiment.

IV. Procedure:
1. Prepare the ff. instruments and apparatuses:
a) Graduated Cylinder,
b) Hydrometer
c) Thermometer
d) Triple Beam Balance/Digital weighing Scale

2. Prepare the ff. Liquids(at least 1/4 liter each):

a) Gasoline
b) Diesel Fuel Oil
c) Alcohol
d) Water

3. Calibrate the instruments.

4. Using, the triple Beam balance/weighing Scale and the graduated
cylinder, determine the weight and volume of the different liquids given
then record the reading in Table A.

5. Compute the density of the liquids in Step 2 using

Density=weight/volume. Record the result on the same table.
6. Using the hydrometer, determine the density of the liquids given and
record the reading in Table B.
 -For gasoline and Diesel Oil, used both the API, Baume and Kg/lit
scale -For Alcohol and water, used the Baume and Kg/lit scale.
 Drop slowly the hydrometer inside the graduated cylinder. 
Read the value in the hydrometer.
7. Compute the Heating Value of the Diesel and Gasoline based on its API
using: Heating Value=41130 + 139.6(API) Kj/Kg.
8. Compute the percentage error between the computed values against the
values read from the Hydrometer.
Percentage Error= (Computed Values,Kg/Lit-Hydrometer Reading,Kg/lit)/ Computed
Values,Kg/Lit x 100%

V. Data and Results:

Table A –Density of liquids based on weight and volume.

LIQUID VOLUME ,Liter Weight,Kg Density,Kg/lit

Gasoline A

Gasoline B

Gasoline C

Diesel

Alcohol

Water

Table B.1-Density based on Hydrometer reading

Liquid DENSITY

Kg/lit Baume

Alcohol

Water

Table B.2 Density of Gasoline and Diesel

 LIQUID DENSITY Heating
Value
Kg/lit API Baume
Kj/Kg

Table C. Percentage Error

Liquids Percentage Error,%

Gasoline

Diesel

Alcohol

Water

VI. Computations:

VII. Discussion and Conclusion:

VIII. Research Questions:

1. What is API, Discuss its importance in the Petroleum Industry.
2. Discuss the history of Baume and API gravity units.
3. Discuss how API affects the price of a fuel
4. Illustrate and discuss the application and importance of the different types
of hydrometers and different density measuring instruments.

IX.References: Book title, Author, Publisher, Edition, page/pages.

Internet websites.
X. Appendix: Attach all original data sheets, diagrams and sketches.