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Viscosity

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Abstract

Viscosity is the resistance of fluids to motion. The dynamic viscosity at a point of a homogeneous fluid, μ, is defined as the ratio of the local shear stress, τ, and the local velocity gradient, also called the rate of shear, γ. The kinematic viscosity of a fluid, ν, is equal to the ratio μ/ρ f.

There is a category of fluids, called Newtonian fluids , for which the dynamic viscosity, μ, does not depend on the rate of shear and is solely a property of the fluid. In non-Newtonian fluids the viscosity depends on the rate of shear. Simple fluids that are used as base fluids in nanofluid systems, such as water, most refrigerants, engine oil, and ethyl glycol, are Newtonian fluids. The addition of the nanoparticles in a base fluid may render the heterogeneous mixture non-Newtonian.

Firstly, this chapter examines the analytical models of the viscosity of simple fluids and suspensions. The analytical treatment delineates the differences between suspensions of spheres and ellipsoidal particles. The concepts of effective viscosity and intrinsic viscosity are introduced with the methodology of their application to nanofluid systems. Secondly, the experimental results that pertain to Newtonian nanofluid suspensions are presented. This section includes sections on the types of viscometers used; how the measurements with heterogeneous Newtonian suspensions are different; and correlations stemming from experimental data for nanofluids. Thirdly, the rheology of solid–liquid suspensions is examined with special emphasis on the rheological characteristics of nanofluids and especially of CNT nanofluids that seem to exhibit non-Newtonian behavior. Fundamental results on the drag coefficient and heat transfer of particles in non-Newtonian fluids are also presented. Fourthly, because the pressure drop of a thermal system depends on the friction factor, this parameter is examined for channels of nanofluids. Analytical and experimental results are presented in this section on the friction factors with and without velocity slip on the walls of the channels.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The coefficient of the exponent in the Nguyen et al. (2007) publication is 0.148. However, it appears that the authors have used the value of the volumetric fraction as percentages rather than a pure number with decimal points (that is 2 % was used as the number 2 in the original correlation, not as 0.02).

  2. 2.

    As with the Newtonian fluids, η is a weak function of the pressure, P.

  3. 3.

    At the time of these publications the terms “nanofluid” and “nanoparticles” had not yet been adopted. The experimental data and the conclusions pertain to what are now called “aqueous nanofluids.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA

    Efstathios E. (Stathis) Michaelides

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Michaelides, E.E.(. (2014). Viscosity. In: Nanofluidics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05621-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05621-0_4

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