Viscosity Measurement Using a Brookfield Viscometer

Abstract

Whether working in product development, quality control, or process design and scale-up, rheology plays an integral role in the manufacture of the best products. Rheology is a science based on the fundamental physical relationships concerned with how all materials respond to applied forces or deformations. Determination and control of the flow properties of fluid foods is critical for optimizing processing conditions and obtaining the desired beneficial effects for the consumer. Transportation of fluids (pumping) from one location to another requires pumps, piping, and fittings such as valves, elbows, and tees. Proper sizing of this equipment depends on a number of elements but primarily on the flow properties of the product. For example, the equipment used to pump a dough mixture would be very different from that used for milk. Additionally, rheological properties are fundamental to many aspects of food safety. During continuous thermal processing of fluid foods, the amount of time the food is in the system (known as the residence time or RT), and therefore the amount of heating or “thermal dose” received, relates directly to its flow properties.