Lab 1

Do it Yourself Experiment
Phillip Russell
December 16, 2009
MEMT 313-003
Partner(s): Daniel McAfee

Table of Contents
Objective............................................................................... 3

Background and Theory........................................................4

Procedure..............................................................................6
Results..................................................................................7
Discussion and Conclusions...................................................8
Appendices...........................................................................9

Objective

The purpose of this experiment was to explore the fluid property of surface
tension by comparing a calculated value for two fluids: SAE 30W oil and
water.

Background and Theory

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Surface tension describes the phenomenon observed that most liquids

develop a sort of skin on the surface that meets the air. The skin is
formed from a result of unbalanced forces acting on the molecules that are
on that very surface. The molecules found within the liquid experience an
equal balance of forces from the other molecules surrounding them. But, as
is the case with so-called wetting fluids, the molecules on the surface
receive more force from the molecules like it underneath as opposed to the
air molecules on the other side. This explains how capillary action works for
these wetting fluids, and why the liquid rises in a capillary tube. The
opposite is true for the so-called non-wetting fluids. Below is a drawing of
what happens to both wetting fluids and non-wetting fluids.

Figure 1 Action of wetting fluids and non-wetting fluids

when reacting to a capillary tube.
Surface tension is denoted by the Greek letter sigma (), and has units of
force
length . The derived equation for surface tension (Eq. 1) is given as:

ghr
2 cos ( )

Surface tension is dependent upon density (); the denser the fluid is, the
more surface tension there will be. This holds true because density is a
mass
property that is defined by volume . More molecules packed into the same
volume will yield higher forces exerted on those outer surface molecules.
Also, decreasing the volume with the same amount of molecules will increase
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the unbalanced forces. Gravity (g) affects surface tension because it is an

attractive force that acts downward. If gravity is increased, it increases the
unbalanced forces that the outer molecules experience. The height (h) that
the liquid is elevated in the tube is related to surface tension because it
directly shows how much the unbalanced forces are pushing on the surface
molecules. If the unbalanced forces are increased, the result will be seen in
the liquid rising higher in the tube. The radius of the capillary tube (r) and
the height (h) are inversely proportional. If the tube is widened, the height of
the liquid will decrease. Taking the cosine of the angle formed between the
tangent line of the liquid on the tubes wall and the tube wall itself is also
important. If the angle is increased, the liquid appears flatter in the tube,
increasing the surface tension. This relationship occurs due to the molecules
of the liquid being more attracted to each other, which is an observance of
increased surface tension.
If the units of surface tension are modified from

force
length

to units of

energy
area ,

we can see that surface tension also plays a role in how much work can be
done by the liquid. Increased surface tension will lead to an increased area
over a constant area (area of the capillary tubes cross section). If the
capillary tubes cross-sectional area is decreased, while the surface tension is
the same for the liquid, there will be an increase in energy produced by the
liquid.

Procedure
Before beginning the experiment, we gathered the necessary materials. The
two liquids that we studied were water and SAE 30W oil. We used regular
water from the tap and Shell SAE 30W motor oil purchased from Auto-Zone.
For a capillary tube, we used an ordinary drinking straw cut in half so that
each liquid had its own tube. To make measurements, we used a permanent
marker to mark the liquid levels and a CEN-TECH 6 dial caliper.
To begin the experiment, we measured the diameter of the drinking straw to
obtain its radius. We then placed a mark about an inch from the bottom of
the straw to show how far it would be inserted into the liquid. Next, we
poured the two liquids into two separate containers and allowed them to
settle. Then, we inserted the two drinking straws into each liquid separately
up to the initial mark and recorded a mark at the height that the liquid
raised. We also estimated the angle that the liquid formed with the wall of
the tube as best as possible, using our judgment. The differences in the two
marks on the drinking straws were recorded. With the gathered data, the
surface tension of each liquid was then calculated using Eq. 1.
Lastly, we looked up accepted values for the actual surface tension of the
two liquids. These were compared to our experimental calculations and we
calculated the percent error to show how far off our experiment was.

Results
Density ()
(lbm/in.^3)

Fluid

Height (h)
(in.)

Angle ()
(radians)

Surface
Tension ()
(lbm/s^2)

SAE 30W Oil

0.032

0.115

0.611

0.086732471

Water

0.036

0.067

0.698

0.060776094

Gravity (g)=

386.089 in./s^2

Radius ( r )=

0.1 in.

Figure 2 Recorded/looked up values and

resulting calculation of surface tension

0.086732471

Accepted
Value of
Surface
Tension
(lbm/s^2)
0.079

0.060776094

0.16

Calculated
Surface
Tension
(lbm/s^2)

Error
(%)
9.79%
62.01
%

Figure 3 Error in calculation of surface tensions

Discussion and Conclusions

The results from our experiment for the surface tension of oil proved to be
fairly consistent with the accepted values of our text. However, our results
obtained for the surface tension of water were very far off from the accepted
values. This can be attributed to the fact that we lacked the necessary
materials to properly measure the pieces we needed. Also, since the water
was clear, it was harder to judge precisely where the levels were because the
air behind it and the drinking straw were clear also. The oil had a yellowbrown tint to it, making it easy to differentiate from the straw and the air.
To better our results for this experiment, we could try a number of things to
obtain more accurate readings. Adding a dye to the water would help with
marking off the level that it raised in the tube, so long as the dye was
consistent in density with water. Also, an actual device to measure the angle
rather than estimating it would provide more accuracy. If we had used a
proper capillary tube that had pre-measured markings on it, we would not
have had to worry about the drinking straw being imperfect. The straws
walls were very thin and weak, so the cross section was not a perfect circle.
Based on our calculations, the oil seemed to provide a greater surface
tension. However, after calculating the error, we cannot say that is true.
Based on the accepted values, water has a higher surface tension, and would
provide a greater fluid mass movement. If we were going on our experiment
alone, we would choose oil in a capillary driven system. But since we know
that the error in the waters calculation is so high, we cannot say that with
high certainty.

Appendices
A: Sample Calculations from Mathcad:

B: References
For densities: http://www.engineersedge.com/fluid_flow/fluid_data.htm

For Figure 1:

http://www.pharmainfo.net/files/images/stories/article_images/Capillary_actio
n_a%20wetting_non_wetting_liquid%20.jpg
For a definition of surface tension:

http://ezproxy.prescott.latech.edu:2048/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=39034459&site=ehost-live&scope=site
For surface tension of water:
http://www.xydatasource.com/xy-showdatasetpage.php?
datasetcode=4444&dsid=107&searchtext=water
For surface tension of oil:
Jasper, J.J., J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data, 1, 841, 1972.

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