Viscosity

The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to gradual deformation by shear
stress or tensile stress.[1] For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness"; for
example, honey has a much higher viscosity than water.[2]
Viscosity is a property of the fluid which opposes the relative motion between the two surfaces of the
fluid in a fluid that are moving at different velocities. When the fluid is forced through a tube, the
particles which compose the fluid generally move more quickly near the tube's axis and more slowly
near its walls; therefore some stress (such as a pressure difference between the two ends of the
tube) is needed to overcome the friction between particle layers to keep the fluid moving. For a given
velocity pattern, the stress required is proportional to the fluid's viscosity.
A fluid that has no resistance to shear stress is known as an ideal or inviscid fluid. Zero viscosity is
observed only at very low temperatures in superfluids. Otherwise, all fluids have positive viscosity,
and are technically said to be viscous or viscid. In common parlance, however, a liquid is said to
be viscous if its viscosity is substantially greater than that of water, and may be described
as mobile if the viscosity is noticeably less than water.[according to whom?][not verified in body] A fluid with a relatively
high viscosity, such as pitch, may appear to be a solid.
Contents
[hide]
1Etymology
2Definition
o 2.1Dynamic (shear) viscosity
o 2.2Kinematic viscosity
o 2.3Bulk viscosity
o 2.4Viscosity tensor
3Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids
4Viscosity in solids
5Viscosity measurement
6Units
o 6.1Dynamic viscosity
o 6.2Kinematic viscosity
o 6.3Fluidity
o 6.4Non-standard units
7Molecular origins
o 7.1Gases
7.1.1Relation to mean free path of diffusing particles
7.1.2Effect of temperature on the viscosity of a gas
7.1.3Viscosity of a dilute gas
o 7.2Liquids
7.2.1Viscosity of blends of liquids
8Viscosity of selected substances
o 8.1Air
o 8.2Water
o 8.3Other substances
9Viscosity of slurry
10Viscosity of amorphous materials
11Eddy viscosity
12See also
13References
14Further reading
15External links
Etymology[edit]
The word "viscosity" is derived from the Latin "viscum", meaning mistletoe and also a
viscous glue made from mistletoe berries.[3]
Definition[edit]
Dynamic (shear) viscosity [edit]
Laminar shear of fluid between two plates. Friction between the fluid and the moving boundaries/plates causes
the fluid to shear. The force required for this action is a measure of the fluid's viscosity.
In a general parallel flow (such as could occur in a straight pipe), the shear stress is proportional to the gradient
of the velocity
The dynamic (shear) viscosity of a fluid expresses its resistance to shearing flows, where adjacent
layers move parallel to each other with different speeds. It can be defined through the idealized
situation known as a Couette flow, where a layer of fluid is trapped between two horizontal plates,
one fixed and one moving horizontally at constant speed . This fluid has to be homogeneous in
the layer and at different shear stresses. (The plates are assumed to be very large, so that one need
not consider what happens near their edges.)
If the speed of the top plate is low enough, the fluid particles will move parallel to it, and their speed
will vary linearly from zero at the bottom to u at the top. Each layer of fluid will move faster than the
one just below it, and friction between them will give rise to a force resisting their relative motion. In
particular, the fluid will apply on the top plate a force in the direction opposite to its motion, and an
equal but opposite one to the bottom plate. An external force is therefore required in order to keep
the top plate moving at constant speed.
The magnitude F of this force is found to be proportional to the speed u and the area A of each
plate, and inversely proportional to their separation y:
The proportionality factor in this formula is the viscosity (specifically, the dynamic viscosity) of
the fluid.
The ratio u/y is called the rate of shear deformation or shear velocity, and is the derivative of the
fluid speed in the direction perpendicular to the plates [clarification needed]. Isaac Newton expressed the
viscous forces by the differential equation
where = F/A, and u/y is the local shear velocity. This formula assumes that the flow is
moving along parallel lines to x-axis. Furthermore, it assumes that the y-axis, perpendicular
to the flow, points in the direction of maximum shear velocity. This equation can be used
where the velocity does not vary linearly with y, such as in fluid flowing through a pipe.
Use of the Greek letter mu () for the dynamic stress viscosity is common among
mechanical and chemical engineers, as well as physicists.[4][5][6] However, the Greek letter
eta () is also used by chemists, physicists, and the IUPAC.[7]
Kinematic viscosity[edit]
The kinematic viscosity (also called "momentum diffusivity") is the ratio of the dynamic
viscosity to the density of the fluid . It is usually denoted by the Greek letter nu ().
It is a convenient concept when analyzing the Reynolds number, which expresses the
ratio of the inertial forces to the viscous forces:
where L is a typical length scale in the system.
Bulk viscosity[edit]
Main article: Volume viscosity
When a compressible fluid is compressed or expanded evenly, without shear, it may
still exhibit a form of internal friction that resists its flow. These forces are related to
the rate of compression or expansion by a factor called the volume viscosity, bulk
viscosity or second viscosity.
The bulk viscosity is important only when the fluid is being rapidly compressed or
expanded, such as in sound and shock waves. Bulk viscosity explains the loss of
energy in those waves, as described by Stokes' law of sound attenuation.
Viscosity tensor[edit]
Main article: Viscous stress tensor
In general, the stresses within a flow can be attributed partly to the deformation of
the material from some rest state (elastic stress), and partly to the rate of change of
the deformation over time (viscous stress). In a fluid, by definition, the elastic stress
includes only the hydrostatic pressure.
In very general terms, the fluid's viscosity is the relation between the strain rate and
the viscous stress. In the Newtonian fluid model, the relationship is by definition a
linear map, described by a viscosity tensor that, multiplied by the strain rate
tensor (which is the gradient of the flow's velocity), gives the viscous stress tensor.
The viscosity tensor has nine independent degrees of freedom in general.
For isotropic Newtonian fluids, these can be reduced to two independent
parameters. The most usual decomposition yields the dynamic viscosity and the
bulk viscosity .
Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids[edit]
Viscosity, the slope of each line, varies among materials
Newton's law of viscosity is a constitutive equation (like Hooke's law, Fick's

law, Ohm's law): it is not a fundamental law of nature but an approximation that
holds in some materials and fails in others.
A fluid that behaves according to Newton's law, with a viscosity that is
independent of the stress, is said to be Newtonian. Gases, water, and many
common liquids can be considered Newtonian in ordinary conditions and contexts.
There are many non-Newtonian fluids that significantly deviate from that law in
some way or other. For example:
Shear-thickening liquids, whose viscosity increases with the rate of shear strain.
Shear-thinning liquids, whose viscosity decreases with the rate of shear strain.
Thixotropic liquids, that become less viscous over time when shaken, agitated,
or otherwise stressed.
Rheopectic (Dilatant) liquids, that become more viscous over time when
shaken, agitated, or otherwise stressed.
Bingham plastics that behave as a solid at low stresses but flow as a viscous
fluid at high stresses.
Shear-thinning liquids are very commonly, but misleadingly, described as
thixotropic.

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Viscosity

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The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to gradual deformation by shear

where L is a typical length scale in the system.

Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids[edit]

Viscosity, the slope of each line, varies among materials

Newton's law of viscosity is a constitutive equation (like Hooke's law, Fick's

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