A microtube viscometer with a thermostat

The viscometer presented in this paper is suitable for measuring the viscosity of liquids in micro-litre quantities. It consists of a micro-flow experimental system with a thermostat. Using the measurements of the flow rates and pressure drops of a liquid passing through a microtube, the liquid’s viscosity can be calculated from on Hagen-Poiseuille theory. After calibration, the viscometer was used to measure viscosities of deionized water and ethyl alcohol at temperatures ranging from 0 to 40 °C. For both test liquids, the relative deviation of the measured values from those quoted in the literature (obtained using other viscometers) was less than 2.6%. The relative uncertainty of the experimental system was reduced to ±1.8% using the relative measuring method. Due to the micro-scale of the test section, only a micro-litre quantity of liquid is needed for a test; this is a potential advantage for measurement of bio-liquid viscosities.