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Viscosity from torque on rotating cylinder

Short answer

For thin-gap linear profile, torque T = μ (ωR/t) 2π R² h. Solving for μ yields μ = T t / (2π ω R³ h) = (12×0.0005)/(2π×10.472×0.075³×0.25) ≈ 0.865 Pa·s (8.65 poise).

A 15 cm diameter vertical cylinder rotates concentrically inside another cylinder of diameter 15.10 cm; both cylinders are 25 cm high. The space between the cylinders is filled with a liquid whose viscosity is unknown. If a torque of 12 Nm is required to rotate the inner cylinder at 100 rpm, determine the viscosity of the fluid.

Data: inner radius R=0.075R=0.075 m, outer radius 0.07550.0755 m, so the gap t=0.5t=0.5 mm =0.0005=0.0005 m. Height h=0.25h=0.25 m, T=12T=12 N·m, N=100N=100 rpm, so ω=2π×10060=10.472\omega=\dfrac{2\pi\times100}{60}=10.472 rad/s.

Surface velocity of the inner cylinder: V=ωR=10.472×0.075=0.7854V=\omega R=10.472\times0.075=0.7854 m/s.

For a thin gap the profile is linear: τ=μVt\tau=\mu\dfrac{V}{t}. The torque on the inner cylinder (bottom neglected):

T=τ (2πRh) R=μωRt 2πR2hT=\tau\,(2\pi Rh)\,R=\mu\frac{\omega R}{t}\,2\pi R^{2}h μ=T t2πωR3h=12×0.00052π(10.472)(0.075)3(0.25)\mu=\frac{T\,t}{2\pi\omega R^{3}h}=\frac{12\times0.0005}{2\pi(10.472)(0.075)^{3}(0.25)} μ=0.8646 Pa⋅s\mu=0.8646\ \text{Pa·s}

Answer: μ≈0.865 N⋅s/m2\mu\approx0.865\ \text{N·s/m}^2 (8.65 poise).

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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