Polymer Viscosity Analysis
The purpose of this experiment was to validate a cost effective ($20) method of finding the intrinsic viscosity of a polymer. This project is significance because currently the only way to reliably determine the intrinsic viscosity for commercial applications, is by using million dollar equipment.
To summarize, I used 3 different grades (length of the polymer) of PEG and mixed them in water. I then used a simple cheap viscosity test that I used in my fluid dynamics class which should be in theory give me a accurate reading of the viscosity for each grade of PEG. Once I calculated the viscosities I calculated the intrinsic viscosity which also let me find the inherent viscosity of the polymer. Ultimately when using a 2nd order polynomial best fit on the data points I was able to get a good approximation of the actually intrinsic viscosity. See the presentation below for details on the findings and the report for details on the experiments setup.
Weighing a specific grade of polymer
Mixing polymer
Viscosity test apparatus
Calibration for the time it takes the steel ball to drop