The viscosity of the emulsion may be considerably higher than that of the constituents. Every emulsion behaves differently and there are few guidelines for determining the viscosity of an emulsion as a function of physical properties of the liquids. In such cases, it is recommended to perform laboratory tests to determine the behavior of the emulsion under simulated well conditions. Effect of Viscosity on Centrifugal Pump Performance Most of the time, submersible pumps handle water or crude of relatively low viscosity. However, in some instances, submersible pumps are used to handle liquids whose viscosity is greatly different from water.
Viscous fluids have high internal resistance to flow.
Consequently, the frictional losses and disk friction are increased which results in low head and high brake horsepower. Viscosity also has an effect on leakage losses and it has been found that the viscosity reduces the capacity of a pump at the best efficiency point. Figure 4 - 6, shows an example of how a centrifugal pump curve changes due to the effects of moderate to high viscosities. Gas can reduce viscosity. Viscous fluid can be produced with rec.