8/28/2014 Viscosity and flow

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Viscosityandflow
Theoriginofviscosity
Principleofmeasuringviscosity
Flowbehaviouroffluids
Practicalmeasuresofviscosity
Theoriginofviscosity
Whenaforceisappliedtoasolid,itwillyieldslightly,andthenresistfurther
movement.However,whenweapplyforcetoafluid,itcontinuestomoveawayfrom
theforce,andwecreateavelocitygradient.Withinapipe,forexample,thefluidinthe
centremovesfasterthanthefluidattheoutside.Viscosityistheresistancetoflow
experiencedastheinternallayersofliquidmoveovereachother.
Anykindoffluid,liquidorgas,hasresistancetoflow.Thisiscausedatthemolecular
levelbythedragbetweenadjacentmolecules.Onawiderlevel,theflowofonelayer
offluidagainstanotherissubjecttodrag,inthesamewaythatsurfacesincontact
displayfrictionwhenrelativemovementtakesplace.
Activity
Viscositybecomesimportantinallcaseswhereamaterialflows.
Sometimesthisisobvious,asinthecaseofsolderpasterollingovera
stencilinothercasesitislessobviousforexample,StageBepoxyresins
flowduringthelaminationprocess.Canyouthinkofothercaseswherethe
rateofflowisimportant?
gotosolution
[backtotop]
Principleofmeasuringviscosity
ThebasicviscometershowninFigure1hastwoplatesseparatedbyathinlayerof
fluid.Ifyoutrytomoveoneplaterelativetotheother,theliquidwillexerta
resistance.Thehighertheviscosity,thethickerandmoreresistanttoflowtheliquid
willbe,andhencetheslowertheplatewillmoveforagivenforce.
Toachieveaconstantspeed,aconstantforceisapplied.Theforceexertedbythe
weightactingoverthepulleyisdescribedasashearforce,becauseitcausesoneplate
tosliderelativetotheplateopposite.[Shearforcesactoveranareawhichisinline
withtheforces,incontrasttotensionforces,wheretheplatesarepulledapart,or
compressionforces,wheretheplatesarepushedtogether]
Figure1:Theprincipleofviscositymeasurement
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Theshearstressisdefinedastheshearforceperunitareaoftheinterface,andgiven
bytheequation:
Shearstressismeasuredinnewtonspersquaremeter(N.m
2
)oritsequivalentthe
pascal(Pa).
Withafluidbetweentheplates,theshearforceappliedresultsinrelativemovement.
Astheforceappliedincreases,sowillthespeedofthetopplate.However,lookingat
thefluidbetweentheplateswewillfindthatthereisavelocitygradientacrossthegap
(Figure2).
Figure2:Detailofthefluidboundaries
Thisisbecausethefluidattheboundaryiseffectivelyattachedtoitsplateand
constrainedtomove(ornotmove)atthesamerateattheplate.Theshearrateis
definedasthevelocitygradient,bytheequation:
Shearrateismeasuredinmeterspermeterpersecond.However,asthefirstpartisa
ratio,thedimensionsofshearratearetime
1
.
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Wedefineacoefficientofviscosity,normallyabbreviatedtoviscosity,bythe
equation:
Viscosityisthereforemeasuredinnewtonspersquaremeterpersecond(N.m
2
s
1
).
As1N.m
2
=1pascal,wecanalsoexpressviscosityinpascalsecondsPas,andthis
isthepreferredSIunit.Thesymbolforviscosityvariesbetweensources,but(Greek
lettereta)isthemostcommon.
Manyviscositymeasurementsstillappearinoldersystemsofunits.Inthecgssystem,
forexample,theunitofviscosityisg.cm
1
.s
1
,calledthepoise(Po).However,thisis
alargeunit:especiallygiventhattheviscosityofwaterat20Cisabout0.01Po,the
subdivisioncentipoise(cPo)wasusedmoreoften,evenwhengivingvaluesfor
materialslikesolderpastewhicharetypicallyquotedas10
5
centipoise,ratherthan10
3
poise.
Similarly,becausethePasisalargeunit,viscositiesarefrequentlygiveninunitsof
mPas.Evenmorehelpfulistheequality1cPo=1mPasplusachange,pluscest
lammechose!
Whatwehavebeentalkingaboutisactuallymorecorrectlyreferredtoasdynamic
viscosity.Analternativemeasureisthekinematicviscosity,whichisthedynamic
viscositydividedbythedensityofthefluid.Theconventionalsymbolforkinematic
viscosityis(Greekletternu),anditsSIunitsarem
2
.s
1
,butyouwillgenerally
comeacrossthecgsunitcalledthestoke(10,000stoke=1m
2
.s
1
).Thecontinued
useofthisalternativecomesfromitseaseofuseforrelativelythinfluids,measuring
thetimetakenforagivenvolumeofliquidtoflowthroughastandardcapillarytube,
usingoneofseveraldifferentstandardinstruments.
Yetanotherwayoflookingatthesubjectistostandviscosityonitshead,andusethe
termfluidity(Greekletterphi),whichistheinverseofviscosity: .
SelfAssessmentQuestions
Waterhasadynamicviscosityof1.0016mPasat20Catypicalepoxy
adhesivehasadynamicviscosityof150,000mPasatthesame
temperature.Whatisthesignificanceofthesefigures?
gotosolution
[backtotop]
Flowbehaviouroffluids
Newtonianfluids
SocalledNewtonianfluidshavearesistancetoflowwhichisconstant,andthe
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viscositymeasuredwillbeindependentoftherateofflow(Figure3).Asimple
exampleofsuchafluidiswaterthehigherthepressure,thegreateristheflowfrom
thetap.
Figure3:FluidbehaviourNewtonianfluids
WhilstNewtonianfluidsarecommonwater,petrol,beermanyothercommon
materialshaveviscositieswhicharenotconstant.Thatis,theirresistancetoflowisnot
constant,andtheflowratewhichresultswhenpressureisappliedisnotpurelya
functionofthepressuregradientinthefluid.
Aswellasbeingnonlinearwhenpressureisapplied,fluidshaveviscositiesthatvary
withtemperature.AsanexampleofaNewtonianfluid,thinkofhowmucheasieritis
todraintheoilfromyoursumpiftheengineiswarm.Similarly,nonNewtonian
materialssuchassolderpasteinvariablybecomelessviscousastheywarmup.Be
awarethattherateatwhichviscosityfallsoffmaynotbeconstant,andthatthe
reductionofviscositywillbeparticularlymarkedifoneoftheconstituentsinapasty
materialmelts.
Shearthinning
Realmaterialsexhibitavarietyofdifferentbehaviours,ofwhichthemostcommonis
shearthinning
1
.Thisdescribesthenonlinearrelationshipbetweentherateatwhich
forceisappliedandtheresultingflow,wherethefluidityincreaseswithshearforce
(Figure4).
1
Suchmaterialsarereferredtoasexhibitingpseudoplasticflow.
Figure4:Fluidbehaviourshearthinning
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Afamiliarmaterialwhichisthinnerathighratesofshearistomatoketchup
rememberhowfluidthisbecomeswhenyoushakethebottlevigorously!Another
exampleisnondrippaint,wheretheforceexertedbythebrushactingagainstthe
surfacebeingpaintedthinsthematerialsothatitflows,whilstremovingtheshear
forceleavesamaterialwhich(withluck)willnotdrip.
Suchshearthinningisanessentialrequirementforprinting:afterall,wewanttouse
pastewhichwillflowintostencilaperturesbutremaininpositionwithoutslumping.
Thixotropy
SolderpastesarenotNewtonianfluids:allpastesexhibitshearthinning,andmost
arethixotropic.Thixotropyisthetermusedtodescribethememoryofafluid,where
theviscositydependsnotjustontheshearratebutalsoontheshearhistoryofthe
paste.
YoumayrememberfromyourDIYexperiencesthattheonethingyoudontdowith
nondrippaintisstiritbeforeusing,becausethisturnsit,atleastforashortperiod,
intoamaterialwhichistoothintouse.Thismemorypropertyissharedbysolder
cream,andatypicalpasteshowsalowerviscositywithreducingshearratethepaste
isthinneronthewaydown(Figure5).
Figure5:Fluidbehaviourthixotropy
Thereisalwaysakneeintheshearstress:shearratecurveforallmaterialswhich
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exhibitshearthinning(Figure4).Materialswhicharethixotropichaveasecond
feature:thereisoftenayieldpoint,aminimumshearstressbelowwhichthecream
doesnotmove(Figure5).Thisensuresthatthematerialwillnotslumpduringuseor
separateduringtransportandstorage.Ifacreamistoothick,becauseitdoesnotshear
thin,orhastoohighayieldpoint,itwillbedifficulttoprint.
Caution
AcommonmethodforcharacterizingandquantifyingnonNewtonianflowistoquote
theratioofthefluidsviscosityasmeasuredattwodifferentspeeds,usuallydiffering
byafactorof10.Thisprocedureiscommonlyknownasthethixotropicindex.The
nameis,however,misleadingsincethisratiomeasurestimeindependentnon
Newtonianbehaviour,whereasthixotropyisatimedependentphenomenon.
Rheology
Sofarwehaveconsideredviscosityasameasureoftheratioofshearstresstoshear
rateandonethatvarieswithstressinanonNewtonianfluid,whichmayexhibitshear
thinningandthixotropy.Ifyouareinterestedinthistopicofflow,theneventhemost
cursorylookatatextbookwillindicatethatotherfluidshaveothertypesofnonlinear
behaviour.
Weusethetermrheologybroadly,torepresentthewaythatafluidflowsand
deformsunderagivensetofconditions,suchastemperatureorforce.Measuringthe
rheologicalbehaviourofamaterialisactuallywhatwearemeasuringwhenweusea
viscometerthemeasurementtakenisofstress:rate,oritsinverse,buttheresults
thatwegetdependonthetypeofequipment,thewayitisused,andonfactorssuchas
temperatureandtheflowhistoryofthematerial.
Thisisacomplextopic,whichwewillonlyoverviewinthenextsection.Thereare
thosewhowouldsaythattotrytostandardisetestsforthisbehaviourislessuseful
thanapracticalassessmentofwhetherornotthematerialwillperforminthemanner
needed.However,giventhevariationinthewaythatmaterialsareused,suppliersare
likelytocontinuetoaimatreproducibletests.
SelfAssessmentQuestions
Atypicalsolderpastefordispensinghasaviscosityof450,000cP.Whyis
itimportantthatthequotedconditionsoftestincludeboththespeedat
whichthepasteisshearedinthemachineandthetimeafterstirringduring
whichthemeasurementmustbemade?
gotosolution
[backtotop]
Practicalmeasuresofviscosity
ForNewtonianfluids,therearemanywaystomeasureviscosity,includingthe
standardtestsreferredtoearlier,whichmeasurehowfastafluidflowsthroughatube.
Anothereasyway,applicabletotransparentmediaofmoderateviscosity(upto
50Pas,istoseehowfastaspherefallsthroughthefluid.Afluidwithhighviscosity
resistsflow,sothespherefallsslowlyifthefluidhasalowviscosity,itoffersless
resistancetoflow,sotheballfallsfaster.
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Themeasurementisgenerallycarriedbytimingeachsphereasittraversesameasured
distance,repeatingthetestsmanytimestoarriveatameaningfulaveragevalueand,
fromthescatterintheresults,atanassessmentofthemeasurementcertainty.
Itisprobablysimplesttocarryoutcomparativetests,andcalculatetheviscosityfrom
theformula:
Where:
h=viscosity
K=viscometerconstant
r
s
=densityofball
r
f
=specificgravityoftheliquid
t=timeofdescent
Theviscometerconstantiscalibratedusingknownmaterials,suchasdeionisedwater.
Wherespheresofveryaccuratedimensionanddensityareavailable,itisalsopossible
tocalculateabsolutevaluesofviscosityfromStokesLaw,whichrelatestheshear
stresstothebalanceofweight,dragandbuoyancyforcesandtheshearratetothe
terminalvelocityinthefluid.
Measuringviscousmaterials
Forviscousmaterialssuchassolderpaste,adhesives,soldermaskorlegendink,
rotationalviscometryisthemostusedofanumberofgenerictechniquesthatare
availabletomeasuretherheologicalbehaviour.Thesensorsadoptedareconeand
plateorplateandplatedesignsasshowninFigure6.Thetorquerequiredtodrivethe
coneorplateismeasured,andplottedagainstthecorrespondingrotationalspeedto
showtheshearstress(viscosity)toshearraterelationshipofthemedium.
Figure6:Coneandplatemethodsofrotationalviscometry
Theseinstrumentsusethefactthatviscousfluidswhichcontainlongchainpolymers
arenotdrawntotheoutersurfacebycentrifugalforce,buttendtomovetothecentre
becauseoftheWeissenbergeffect.
Flowpropertiesaregenerallynoteasytomeasure,anditisparticularlydifficultto
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drawconclusionsfrommeasurementsmadeindifferentways.Also,singlepoint
viscositymeasurements,howeversimpleandconvenienttocarryout,cannotbeused
tocharacterisesoldercreams,becausedifferentmaterialsmayshearthinbydifferent
amounts,theiryieldpointsmayvary,andtheymayexhibitdifferingdegreesof
thixotropy.Atbest,singlepointmeasurementsarevalidonlywhen:
therheologyofthepasteisknown
thepastehandlingtechniqueimmediatelypriortomeasurementis
standardised
themeasurementtechniqueofthepasteisstandardised.
Theviscositycharacteristicismoreusuallydisplayedonaflowcurveorrheogram,
whichplotsshearstressagainstshearrate,measuredcontinuouslyastheshearstress
firstincreasesandthendecreases.Thebasisofmanycommercialinstrumentsisthe
configurationshowninFigure7,wherethesolderpastecanbekeptinitsown
containerandaspindleimmersedtoaknowndepth.Inthemorecommon
configurationoftherighthanddiagram,thespindlewithapaddleattachedexecutesa
numberofaxialrotationsonahelicalpath,sothatthepastebeingcontactedis
constantlychanging.
Figure7:Schematicconfigurationsofviscometerssuitableforsolderpaste
Viscositychangeswithtemperature
2
,anditisthereforecrucialthatviscosity
measurementsaremadeataconstanttemperature:25Cistheusualchoicefor
referencetemperature,althoughthismaynotberepresentativeofconditionsinFar
Easternassemblyplants.
2
Becausetherateofmolecularinterchangeincreaseswithtemperature,the
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dragforceonamovingbodymightbeexpectedtoincreaseinthesameway,and
infacttheviscosityofagasgoesupwithtemperature.However,inaliquid,the
vanderWaalattractionisresponsibleformuchofthedrag,andthatreduces
withtemperatureasindividualatomsbecomemoremobile.
Activity
CarryoutabriefGooglesearchforsolderpaste+viscometer.Checkout
afewdifferentpiecesofequipment,andseewhatmethodofmeasurement
theyprefer.
Note:Youwillfindmanyreferencestoaviscometerrangemadeby
Malcom(oftenmisspeltMalcolm):thesenolongerappearat
http://www.malcomtech.com,butthesamemodelsarenowsuppliedby
SMT,Inc.(http://www.smtinc.com/).
gotosolution
Alternativemeasurementtechniques
Anentirelydifferentapproachforcomparingviscositiesofsolderpastesoradhesiveis
totrythemintheintendedapplication.Measuresofdispensabilityandprintabilityare
noteasytostandardise,butareusefulforthepragmatist.
Inthenozzleflowmethod,thepasteisdispensedatdifferentdefinedpressuresontoa
glassslide.Theweightofpastedepositedisanarbitrarybutrelevantmeasureof
viscosityandthetestisappropriatetopastesintendedfordispensingratherthanscreen
printing.
Inatypicaltest:theglassslideisweighedtheneedlelengthandinternaldiameterare
defined(15mmand840mor510mrespectivelybeingstandard)asetpressure(1,
2,3,or4bar)isexertedonthepistonfortensecondstheslideisthenreweighed.
Apastethatisdesignedtobeprintedhasgoodprintability(orscreenability)ifthe
properwetheight,coverageandedgeresolutionaremaintainedontheprinted
substrate.Printabilityofapasteincludessuchsubjectiveevaluationsashoweasyitis
toprint,andhowwellthesolderpastespreads.
Althoughinmanywaysaqualitativeassessmentofthesolderpaste,attemptshave
beenmadetodefinethepropertiesthatensuregoodscreenability.Theshearingrateof
thepastecanbecalculatedfromthesqueegeespeed,andthepropertiesofthescreen
anditsemulsion.Knowingtheshearrate,theshearstresscanbedeterminedusinga
viscometer.Forthepastetoscreenwell,theshearstressneedstobelessthan3Ncm
2
.
SelfAssessmentQuestions
Howdothequalitativemethodsfordispensabilityandprintability
describedabovecomparewithviscometermeasurementsasvalidtestsof
fitnessforintendeduseofsolderpaste,adhesive,soldermaskorlegend
ink?
gotosolution
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[backtotop]
Author:MartinTarr

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