Development of digital viscometer based on sensor technology and microcontroller

Abstract

The development of a digital Viscometer of fluid using photodiode and ultrasonic sensor has been done. The time taken of the ball to pass a distance in the fluid is controlled using two photodiode sensors. On the other hand, the ultrasonic sensor is used to measure the distance between the photodiode sensors. An Arduino microcontroller is used as data processing and interfacing with digital displays (LCD). The Viscometer system is validated by an expert and a valid criterion is obtained of 91.67%. Empirically, the measurement error of the system is obtained of 0.5%. Viscosity measurement is carried out on three types of fluid which are glycerine, oil and cooking oil. Based on the measured data, the viscosity of the glycerine, oil and cooking oil are 1.12 Pa s, 0.78 Pa s and 0.39 Pa s, respectively. The satisfy result show the digital Viscometer is promising to be used in industry and schools as a tool to improve the understanding of the viscosity concept of the student.