Liquid dynamic viscosity measurement by ultrasonic wave mode conversion (original) (raw)

Viscosity measurement in thin lubricant films using shear ultrasonic reflection

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology, 2008

When a shear ultrasonic wave is incident on a solid and liquid boundary, the proportion that is reflected depends on the liquid viscosity. This is the basis for some instruments for on-line measurement of bulk liquid viscosity. In machine elements, the lubricant is usually present in a thin layer between two rubbing solid surfaces. The thin film has a different response to an ultrasonic shear wave than liquid in bulk. In this work, this response is investigated with the aim of measuring viscosity in situ in a lubricating film. The proportion of the wave reflected at a thin layer depends on the layer stiffness. A shear wave is reflected by the shear stiffness of the thin layer. For a thin viscous liquid layer, the stiffness is a complex quantity dependent on the viscosity, wave frequency, and film thickness. This stiffness is incorporated into a quasi-static spring model of ultrasonic reflection. In this way, the viscosity can be determined from shear-wave reflection if the oil-film ...

Development of a shear ultrasonic spectroscopy technique for the evaluation of viscoelastic fluid properties: Theory and experimental validation

Ultrasonics, 2019

In-situ measurement of viscosity advances the field of rheology, and aides the development of sensing systems for condition and performance monitoring of lubricated mechanisms. Many lubricated mechanisms, such as journal bearings or seals, are characterised by three-layer interfaces; an oil separating two solid (usually metallic) bodies. The viscoelastic study of the lubricating oil in layered systems is possible in-situ by means of ultrasonic reflection (Schirru et al. (2015)). General solutions exist for the reflection of longitudinal plane waves from multi-layered solid-fluid systems. Similar solutions can be applied to plane shear waves. The use of a quarter-wavelength intermediate matching layer improves the sensitivity of the ultrasonic measurement and overcomes problems of acoustic mismatch. This opens the possibility of using reflectance methods to measure engineering (metal-oil) bearing applications that are acoustically mismatched. In this paper, a rigorous mathematical model for wave propagation in a three-layer system is solved for the reflection coefficient modulus and validated using a quarter wavelength ultrasonic viscometer. The model was tested against experimental data for two Newtonian reference fluids, water and hexadecane, and for one non-Newtonian reference fluid, squalene plus polyisoprene (SQL + PIP), measured ultrasonically at frequencies between 5 and 15 MHz. The results are in agreement with the expected viscosity values for the reference fluids. Further, the viscosity measurement is not limited to the resonance frequency, but it is performed over a broad band frequency range. This is important to improve measurement confidence and accurate spectroscopy measurement for the determination of viscoelastic properties.

Ultrasonic broadband characterization of a viscous liquid: Methods and perturbation factors

Ultrasonics, 2015

The perturbation factors involved in ultrasonic broadband characterization of viscous fluids are analyzed. Precisely, the normal incidence error and the thermal sensitivity of the properties have been identified as dominant parameters. Thus, the sensitivity of the ultrasonic parameters of attenuation and phase velocity were measured at room temperature in the MHz frequency range for two reference silicone oils, namely 47V50 and 47V350 (Rhodorsil). Several methods of characterization were carried out: time of flight, crosscorrelation and spectral method. These ultrasonic parameters are measured at room temperature. For this family of silicone oil, the dispersion of the attenuation spectrum is modeled by a power law. The velocity dispersion is modeled by two dispersion models: the quasi-local and the temporal causal. The impact of the experimental reproducibility of the phase velocity and acoustic attenuation was measured in the MHz frequency range, using a set of ultrasonic transducers with different center frequencies. These measurements are used to identify the dispersion of the ultrasonic parameters as a function of the frequency.

A new method to determine viscosity of liquids using vibration principles

Rheologica Acta, 2003

A new method for determining viscosity of liquids is examined. The method employs the principles of vibration and measures the viscous damping due to the motion of a liquid placed in a cylindrical tube. The apparatus and the test liquid are treated as a dynamic system and the measured mechanical impedances are used to calculate energy dissipation due to the viscous damping. The newly designed apparatus is able to generate shear deformations in the liquid without using moving solid surfaces. A harmonic varying force with a frequency close to the resonance frequency of the system is applied through a piston and the resulting velocities of the oscillations generated in the system are measured. Liquids with higher viscosities result in lower velocities due to the higher damping. Analytical equations are provided to relate the viscous damping of the dynamic system to the viscosity of the liquids. The viscosities obtained from the proposed method are in good agreement with the ones obtained from standard rotational viscometry using a cone and plate geometry.

An acoustic transmission sensor for the longitudinal viscosity of fluids

Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 2013

Physical fluid parameters like viscosity, mass density and sound velocity can be determined utilizing ultrasonic sensors. We introduce the concept of a recently devised transmission based sensor utilizing pressure waves to determine the longitudinal viscosity, bulk viscosity, and second coefficient of viscosity of a sample fluid in a test chamber. A model is presented which allows determining these parameters from measurement values by means of a fit. The setup is particularly suited for liquids featuring higher viscosities for which measurement data are scarcely available to date. The setup can also be used to estimate the sound velocity in a simple manner from the phase of the transfer function.

Application of SH surface acoustic waves for measuring the viscosity of liquids in function of pressure and temperature

Ultrasonics, 2011

Viscosity measurements were carried out on triolein at pressures from atmospheric up to 650 MPa and in the temperature range from 10°C to 40°C using ultrasonic measuring setup. Bleustein-Gulyaev SH surface acoustic waves waveguides were used as viscosity sensors. Additionally, pressure changes occurring during phase transition have been measured over the same temperature range. Application of ultrasonic SH surface acoustic waves in the liquid viscosity measurements at high pressure has many advantages. It enables viscosity measurement during phase transitions and in the high-pressure range where the classical viscosity measurement methods cannot operate. Measurements of phase transition kinetics and viscosity of liquids at high pressures and various temperatures (isotherms) is a novelty. The knowledge of changes in viscosity in function of pressure and temperature can help to obtain a deeper insight into thermodynamic properties of liquids.

A model for the reflection of shear ultrasonic waves at a thin liquid film and its application to viscometry in a journal bearing

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology, 2015

The apparent viscosity of oils in the thin layers that exist in machine elements such as gears and bearings is very different to that in the bulk. In addition, oils in lubricating layers are characterized by non-Newtonian behaviour due to the severe thermodynamic conditions that arise. It is this viscosity that determines the film thickness in lubricated mechanical components. This paper describes a novel methodology based on an ultrasonic approach to determine viscosity in situ in a lubricated contact. The methodology considers the lubricant at the solid boundary as a Maxwell viscoelastic fluid and determines its response to an ultrasonic wave. This approach is then compared with existing methodologies in both a static contact and in a rotating journal bearing. The obtained results have shown that the algorithm proposed in this study is most suitable to study lubricants in the range of 0.3–3 Pas and the measurement error has been found to be less than 10%. This viscosity range is c...

Ultrasonic Characterization of Newtonian and Non-newtonian Fluids

Universal Journal of Physics and Application

Viscous liquid causes a loss of acoustic energy for acoustic wave propagation through the liquid. From an acoustical point of view, Glycerin being Newtonian is a more complex medium as it is heterogeneous, anisotropic and viscoelastic. Non-Newtonian liquids like PEG-SiO 2 , DMF-SiO 2 solutions show shear-dependent nonlinear Viscosity. Apparent molar adiabatic compressibility (∅), as well as bulk moduli (K) and apparent molar volumes (Ø v) of different glycerin-water solutions, are evaluated in the present investigation. At the lower concentration region for glycerin-water solutions apparent molar adiabatic compressibility () varies linearly with the independent variable either molality or m 1/2. The pulse-echo method has been followed to measure attenuation coefficient and sound velocity in these liquids at room temperature. This sound velocity has been compared with the measurement from high precision density and velocity meter (Anton Paar DSA 5000 M for the same temperature. The measurement technique has been reported to quantify adiabatic compressibility as 10% glycerin in water was found to be 41.1×10-11 Pa-1 (K=2.43GPa) including 1.86dB/cm/MHz of attenuation, less compared to pure water but the ultrasonic absorption coefficient (μ a ≈ 0.53) of 10% glycerin in water is nearer to pure water whereas the Non-Newtonian fluids show higher attenuation (>3dB/cm) and higher absorption (μ a ≈0.6).

An empirical method to estimate the viscosity of mineral oil by means of ultrasonic attenuation

IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, 2000

This paper presents an empirical method for measuring the viscosity of mineral oil. In a built-in pipeline application, conventional ultrasonic methods using shear reflectance or rheological and acoustical phenomena may fail because of attenuated shear wave propagation and an unpredictable spreading loss caused by protective housings and comparable main flows. The empirical method utilizing longitudinal waves eliminates the unknown spreading loss from attenuation measurements on the object fluid by removing the normalized spreading loss per focal length with the measurement of a reference fluid of a known acoustic absorption coefficient. The ultrasonic attenuation of fresh water as the reference fluid and mineral oil as the object fluid were measured along with the sound speed and effective frequency. The empirical equation for the spreading loss in the reference fluid is determined by high-order polynomial fitting. To estimate the shear viscosity of the mineral oil, a linear fit is applied to the total loss difference between the two fluids, whose slope (the absorption coefficient) is combined with an assumed shear-to-volume viscosity relation. The empirical method predicted the viscosities of two types of the mineral oil with a maximum statistical uncertainty of 8.8% and a maximum systematic error of 12.5% compared with directly measured viscosity using a glass-type viscometer. The validity of this method was examined by comparison with the results from theoretical far-field spreading. in 2001, and the M.s. degree in electrical engineering and the Ph.d. degree in biomedical engineering from the University of southern california, los angeles, ca, in 2004 and 2005, respectively. He is currently a Transducer development Engineer at cameron Measurement systems, coraopolis, Pa, and a member of IEEE and the UFFc society. His interests include ultrasound transducer design and modeling.