Loading errors in cone-plate rheometry

Errors arising from the under- and overfilling of cone-plate geometries have been investigated for combinations of smooth and micro-roughened cone-plate geometries. We observed experimentally that 0.1 ml deviations in the loading volume, such as can occur due to subjective filling or evaporation, will proportionally change the measured viscosity by 2-3%. We also give a simple method to avoid these errors during routine measurements.