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Related Concept Videos

Capillarity in Fluid01:19

Capillarity in Fluid

Capillarity describes the movement of liquid in small spaces without external forces acting on it. The capillarity is driven by surface tension and adhesive interactions between the liquid and surrounding solid surfaces. This effect is often seen in narrow tubes, porous materials, and fine particles.
Surface tension is crucial to capillarity. It results from cohesive forces between liquid molecules at the liquid-air boundary, forming a skin that resists external forces. When the capillary tube...
Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity02:57

Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity

Surface Tension
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

Microtensiometer for Confocal Microscopy Visualization of Dynamic Interfaces
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Published on: September 9, 2022

Gravity-Driven Microfluidic Viscosity Measurement with a Small Capillary Radius and Strong Pinning Effect.

Jian Dong1,2, Bilong Liu1, Xuxuan Ai1

  • 1Key Laboratory of E&M, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China.

Micromachines
|May 27, 2026
PubMed
Summary

This study presents a novel microscale viscosity measurement technique that avoids contact angle measurement. The method uses a small capillary to simplify calculations for power-law fluids, offering a reliable, low-cost approach for low-viscosity liquids.

Keywords:
capillary pinningimage-based viscosity measurementmicrofluidicsmicroviscometer

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Capillary-based Centrifugal Microfluidic Device for Size-controllable Formation of Monodisperse Microdroplets
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Capillary-based Centrifugal Microfluidic Device for Size-controllable Formation of Monodisperse Microdroplets

Published on: February 22, 2016

Area of Science:

  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Rheology
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Accurate microscale viscosity measurement is crucial for various scientific and industrial applications.
  • Traditional methods often require complex procedures, such as direct contact angle determination, limiting their accessibility and cost-effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce a novel, simplified method for microscale viscosity measurement.
  • To eliminate the need for direct contact angle determination in viscosity measurements.
  • To enable direct calculation of rheological parameters for power-law fluids.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing a capillary with a radius R < 0.2 mm to stabilize the apparent contact angle near 90°.
  • Analyzing image sequences of a growing pendant droplet to determine volume flow rate (Q).
  • Calculating rheological parameters (K and n) of power-law fluids directly from flow rate data.

Main Results:

  • The method successfully measures viscosity for Newtonian (glycerol solutions) and non-Newtonian (xanthan gum solutions) fluids within a specific low-viscosity range.
  • Experimental verification confirmed the apparent contact angle converges to 90° at small capillary radii.
  • Reliable rheological parameters were obtained for low-viscosity and moderately non-Newtonian fluids, showing good agreement with reference values.

Conclusions:

  • The developed technique offers a simple, reliable, and low-cost approach for microscale viscosity measurements of microliter-volume fluids.
  • The method is effective for low-viscosity Newtonian and moderately non-Newtonian fluids.
  • Current limitations exist for high-viscosity or highly non-Newtonian fluids due to increased measurement errors under gravity-driven flow.