It is vitally important when pumping shear sensitive liquids that the correct pumping technology is used to ensure liquids do not change state unintentionally and that the relevant accessories such as pulsation dampeners, frequency drives and heating jackets are selected to reduce or eliminate this risk Thixotropic – Becomes thinner when force is applied e.g. Rheopectic – Thickens or solidifies when a force is applied e.g ink, body armour Non-Newtonian liquids alter depending on the force applied – referred to as shear in one of four ways:ĭilatant – Liquid thickens when agitated e.g. Some fluids remain at a constant viscosity when agitated (providing environmental conditions remain the same e.g temp) such as water as no matter how much water is whisked, stirred or shaken its viscosity remains constant. Positive displacement pumps prefer thicker fluids as they can achieve higher flow rates and pressures than they can with low viscosity liquids as in positive displacement pumps the liquids will sometimes recirculate within the pump head known as slip.įluids can also alter when being pumped if not handled in the correct way. Some liquids such as oils viscosity can alter wildly between a few cst and 1500cst. Viscosity can be altered greatly by temperature which is why when viscosity is quoted its temperature is detailed after the viscosity. Different pumping technologies are required depending on the viscosity of the liquid as some liquids will flow more easily than others such as thick oils and greases.

The viscosity of water is 1cp and an example of a viscous or thick fluid is tomato puree or peanut butter which is 500,000 cps meaning it is 500,000 times thicker than water. In science, water is often used as the basis of comparison and with viscosity, the situation is no different. Viscosity can be measured in numerous units such as centistokes, centipoise, staybolts, mpas to name a few. The viscosity of a liquid is a measure of how easily a liquid flows typically at a set temperature.

Low viscosity chemistry examples