Liquid Viscosity Measurement Technique Using Space Microgravity Environment

The purpose of this research is to validate a method of determining viscosity of highly viscous liquids with known surface tension in which is not confined by solid wall.

The major part of the work involves comparing and analyzing the data from the Fluid Merging Viscosity Measurement experiments (FMVM), conducted onboard the ISS, with results from numerical analysis codes. In these experiments, two different size or equal size droplets are deployed and allowed to merge under the action of the known surface tension without any external forcing. The drop merging process is performed in the zero gravity environment of space on board the ISS. Simultaneously, computer codes are used to determine the viscosity by producing the matching curves of the experimentally measured contact radius speed with theoretical calculation for the model experimental data.

Using this technique, the value of viscosity was determined with reasonable accuracy for several liquids tested.