Effect of Thermal Convection on Viscosity Measurement in Vibrational Viscometer

This paper describes the experimental study of viscosity measurement error in the vibrational type viscometer, which measures viscous damping of the oscillating circular plate in a fluid in continuously increasing temperatures. The experiments are carried out to measure non-uniformity of the temperature field in the test cup of the vibrational viscometer in continuously increasing temperatures, while changing the viscosity of the target fluids. Experimental outcomes show that non-uniformity of the temperature grows in the cup and results in viscosity measurement error, when the viscosity of the fluid increases. In order to understand this phenomenon, velocity measurement by particle image velocimetry is conducted in the test cup for fluids of varying viscosity. The results indicate that mixing is enhanced in the low-viscosity fluid by the occurrence of unsteady thermal convection, while weaker convection appears in the high-viscosity fluid.