Three Primary Types of Viscometers

Answer 1

Viscometers are used in a wide range of industrial and medical applications to measure the viscocity of a particular volume of liquid. For each application of viscometer, there is a different type viscometer available. Here is a short introduction to the three primary types of viscometers: falling piston viscometers, oscillating piston viscometers and vibrational viscometers.

Falling Piston Viscometers

A falling piston visconmeter operates on the principle of a stationary fluid in a glass tube that is disturbed by a solid sphere. The sphere is designed to a perfect size and mass to fall through the liquid in such a way that the ball displaces a specific amount of fluid. The viscosity of the liquid is measure by a falling piston viscometer based on how quickly the liquid is displaces by the falling piston.

Oscillating Piston Viscometers

Also known as an electromagnetic viscometer, oscillating piston viscometers work through a precision chamber that is pumped by a magnetically charged piston. The process works by a temperature controlled solution poured into the precision chamber that is compressed by the magnetic piston as it is pressed into the chamber. The magnetic piston is then driven into the chamber in an oscillating fashion as measurements are taken of the time that it takes for the solution to emerge past the solution. Both the magnetization and the oscillating movements of the piston result in a much more precise measurement of viscosity than can be measured for a wide variety of liquids.

Vibrational Viscometers

Vibrational viscometers have been around since the 50s. They operate through the use of a vibrating piston that is immersed into a vial of the liquid that needs to be tested. The way that the viscosity is determined is by measuring the amount of time that it takes for the liquid to settle to a static state after the vibrational viscometer has been turned off. However, these devices have become less popular in recent years due to the fact that they do not have a clear sheer field. This makes vibrational viscometers unable to measure liquids that do not have a well documented natural viscosity. Nevertheless, vibrational viscometers are consider much more rugged than similar devices and thus have a wide range of industrial applications.