Electromagnetically revolving sphere viscometer

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new method of low viscosity measurement, in which the rolling of a probe sphere on the flat solid bottom of a sample cell is driven remotely and the revolution speed of the probe in a sample liquid gives the viscosity measurements. The principle of this method is based on the electromagnetically spinning technique that we developed, and the method is effective especially for viscosity measurements at levels below 100 mPa·s with an accuracy higher than 1%. The probe motion is similar to that in the well-known rolling sphere (ball) method. However, our system enables a steady and continuous measurement of viscosity, which is problematic using the conventional method. We also discuss the limits of the measurable viscosity range common to rolling-sphere-type viscometers by considering the accelerating motion of a probe sphere due to gravity, and we demonstrate the performance of our methods.