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Viscosities 2.2.3

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2.2.3 Viscosities
Viscosities of liquids
The dynamic viscosity, of a (Newtonian) fluid is given by = dv/dr; = shearing stress between two planes parallel with the
direction of flow, dv/dr = velocity gradient at right angles to the direction of flow. The dimensions of dynamic viscosity are ML1T1,
and the SI unit is Pa s.
Kinematic viscosity, , is the ratio of the dynamic viscosity to the density, . The dimensions of kinematic viscosity are L2T1 and
the SI unit is m2 s1.
Fluidity,
is the reciprocal of the dynamic viscosity, . The dynamic viscosity of liquids decreases with the temperature
approximately according to the equation log = A + B/T, where A and B are characteristic constants and T is the absolute
temperature. Values of A and B for a large number of liquids are given by Barrer (1943).
(i) Viscosity of water. Data from Kestin, Sokolov and Wakeham (1978).

Temp.

Temp.

Temp.

Temp.

mPa s

mPa s

mPa s

mPa s

0
5
10
15

1.792
1.519
1.307
1.138

20
25
30
40

1.0020
0.8902
0.7973
0.6526

50
60
70
80

0.5471
0.4670
0.4046
0.3551

90
100
125
150

0.3150
0.2821
0.2217
0.1818

(ii) Viscosities of various liquids. in mPa s

Liquid
Acetic acid . .
Acetone
. .
Aniline
. .
Benzene
. .
Bromobenzene .
n-Butane . . .
Carbon disulphide
Carbon dioxide .
Carbon tetrachloride
Chloroform . .
Di-ethyl ether
.
Ethanol . . .
Ethyl acetate
.
Ethyl formate
.
n-Hexane
. .
n-Hexadecane .
Mercury
. .
Methane
. .
Methanol
.
Nitrobenzene
n-Octane
.

.
.
.

100 C

50 C

0 C

25 C

30 C

50 C

75 C

100 C

0.747
2.132

1.545
98.96

0.0357

0.339
0.796
0.227

1.514
0.544
8.318
1.284
1.060
0.782

0.402
9.450

1.592
0.197
0.445
0.098
1.341
0.709
0.288
1.873
0.575
0.504
0.387

1.616

1.116
0.310
3.822
0.603
1.065
0.157
0.357
0.057
0.912
0.536
0.224
1.084
0.428
0.381
0.296
3.044
1.528

1.037
0.295
3.298
0.562
0.995
0.150
0.343

0.851
0.510
0.214
0.983
0.406
0.362
0.282
2.729
1.497

0.792
0.247
1.982
0.436
0.780

0.662
0.422
0.179
0.684
0.332
0.299
0.235
1.852
1.401

0.591
0.200
1.201
0.332
0.605

0.503
0.341
0.146
0.459
0.264
0.240
0.190
1.245
1.322

0.457
0.165
0.808
0.263
0.488

0.395
0.281
0.119
0.323
0.215
0.196
0.155
0.896
1.255

2.258

1.837

0.797

0.719

0.543
1.842
0.516

0.507
1.688
0.486

0.392
1.244
0.390

0.294
0.915
0.306

0.227
0.710
0.247

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Viscosities 2.2.3

Oil, castor
.
Oil, olive . .
n-Pentane
.
n-Propane
.
Sulphuric acid
Toluene . .

.
.
.
.
.
.

1.300
0.421

0.498
0.215

2.124

0.273
0.127

0.768

700
67.0
0.214
0.099
23.8
0.551

451
54.0
0.205
0.094
20.1
0.520

125
25.8
0.173

11.7
0.420

42.0
9.4
0.140

6.6
0.334

16.9
7.0
0.115

4.1
0.272

For more data see: ESDU (196683), Landolt-Brstein (1969).

(iii) Viscosity of aqueous glycerol solutions. Data from Segur and Oberstar (1951), corrected to value for water at 20 C of
1.002 mPa s.
Density
20 kg/l

% weight
glycerol

1.2611
1.2588
1.2562
1.2534
1.2508
1.2482
1.2085
1.1254
1.0459
1.0215

/Pa s

100
99
98
97
96
95
80
50
20
10

20C

30C

40C

1.408
1.146
0.936
0.763
0.622
0.521
0.059
0.005
0.001
0.001

0.610
0.498
0.408
0.339
0.280
0.236
0.033
0.004
0.001
0.001

0.283
0.234
0.195
0.165
0.142
0.121
0.020 7
0.003 09
0.001 07
0.000 823

9
98
75
31

8
20
35
03

(iv) Viscosity of aqueous sucrose solutions. Data from Bingham and Jackson (1918), corrected to a more recent value for the
viscosity of water.
Relative density
20/4 C

% weight
sucrose

/Pa s
15 C

20 C

25 C

1.3790

75

4.039

2.328

1.405

1.3472

70

0.746 9

0.481 6

0.321 6

1.3163

65

0.211 3

0.147 2

0.105 4

1.2865

60

0.079 49

0.058 49

0.040 03

1.2296

50

0.019 53

0.015 43

0.012 40

1.1764

40

0.007 463

0.006 167

0.005 164

1.1270

30

0.003 757

0.003 187

0.002 735

(v) Relative viscosities of some aqueous solutions at 1 N concentration. For a complete list see International Critical Tables
(1928) and Stokes and Mills (1965). (The latter covers 192963.)
Substance
Ammonia

Temp./C

Relative
viscosity

Substance

25

1.02

Potassium chloride

Temp./C

Relative
viscosity

17.6

0.98

Ammonium chloride

17.6

0.98

Potassium iodide

17.6

0.91

Calcium chloride

20

1.31

Sodium hydroxide

25

1.24

15

1.07

Sulphuric acid

25

1.09

Hydrochloric acid

.
.

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Viscosities 2.2.3

(vi) Viscosity of liquid metals and molten salts. in mPa s

Liquid
Aluminium . .
Gold
. . .
Lead
.
. .
Potassium
.
Sodium
. .
Tin
. . . .
Potassium chloride
Potassium nitrate

.
.
.
.
.
.

Sodium chloride

Sodium nitrate

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. .

100 C

400 C

600 C

700 C

800 C

0.458
0.680

2.32
0.224
0.286
1.33

2.09

1.55
0.172
0.215
1.04

1.07

2.96

1.37
0.155
0.192
0.95

2.66

1.24
0.141
0.174
0.89
1.096

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

1.91

1.500

1100 C

1200 C

5.13

0.78

4.64

0.77

816C.

For more data on molten salts see G. J. Janz (1968). For liquid metal see Smithell (1983, p. 14.2).

Viscosities of glasses and minerals. log10(/Pa s)

Material
Plate glass
. .
Medium flint glass
Silica
. . .
Olivine
. .
Diorite
. .
Diopside
. .

900 C

1000 C

1100 C

1200 C

4.00
3.9

3.03
2.8

2.41
1.9
14.6

1.87
1.4
12.7
2.5
3.1

1300 C
1.46
0.9
11.8
1.5
2.3
0.52

1400 C

1600 C

1800 C

2000 C

1.07
0.7
9.7
1.2
1.8
0.43

8.2

4.7

3.4

Viscosities of liquids at high pressures

(i) Relative viscosity of water
Pressure/MPa
0.1
49
98
196
294
392
588
784
981

2.2 C

10 C

20 C

30 C

50 C

75 C

100 C

1.000
0.946
0.926
0.940
0.993
1.072
1.296

1.000
0.969
0.957
0.982
1.037
1.185
1.330

1.000
0.990
0.990
1.023
1.081
1.163
1.367
1.629

1.000
0.998
1.008
1.053
1.116
1.195
1.386
1.642
1.950

1.000
1.021
1.046
1.104
1.174
1.253
1.439
1.664
1.936

1.000
1.029
1.063
1.137
1.217
1.302
1.492
1.708
1.948

1.000
1.043
1.085
1.170
1.256
1.349
1.546
1.757
1.986

(ii) Relative viscosities of various liquids. Ratio = p/0 at same temperature.

Liquid

Acetone

Temp./C

30
75

Pressure/MPa
98

100

392

400

784

1177

1.68
1.65

4.03
3.55

9.70
7.36

13.7

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Viscosities 2.2.3

Benzene

Carbon disulphide
Di-ethyl ether
Ethanol

n-Hexane .

.
.

.
.

Methanol

n-Octane

n-Pentane .

Toluene

30
50
75
100
30
75
30
75
30
75
25
30
75
100
50
75
100
30
75
25
30
75
100
30
75
30
75

n-Hexadecane

2.22

2.07

1.45
1.50
2.11
1.87
1.59
1.64

2.15
2.33

1.47
1.46

2.12
2.20

2.07
2.25
1.87
1.86

2.06
2.00
1.98

2.10

2.21
2.26
2.89
2.69
2.61

2.74
2.31

2.24
2.25

7.89

3.23
3.14
6.20
5.28
4.14
4.28

8.20
7.91

2.96

12.3
8.97

7.03
7.33

6.33

7.40

7.41
7.22

15.0

12.9

9.19
8.56

6.92
6.25
18.2
12.8
10.5
9.48

32.7
24.8

5.62
4.77

35.7

22.9
20.3
50.0
24.6

15.5
11.8
46.8
27.1
24.5
18.3

69.7

9.95
7.69

70.2
48.1

109

Data from Bridgman (1926), except at 100 and 400 MPa which comes from K. J. Young, PhD Thesis, University of Glasgow, Nov.
1980, and Dymond, Robertson and Isdale (1981).

Viscosities of gases and vapours

(i) Viscosities at normal pressure. Units: Pa s.
Gas
Air . . . . .
Ammonia . . .
Argon . . . .
Benzene
. . .
Carbon dioxide .
Carbon monoxide
Chlorine . . .
Chloroform . .
Ethylene . . .
Helium
Hydrogen . . .
Krypton . . .
Methane . . .
Neon
. . .
Nitrogen . . .
Nitrous oxide . .
Oxygen . . .
Steam
. . .
Sulphur dioxide .
Xenon . . .

0 C

20 C

50 C

100 C

200 C

300 C

400 C

500 C

600 C

17.3
9.2
21.0
7.0
13.7
16.6
12.3
9.4
9.7
18.7
8.4
23.4
10.3
29.8
16.6
13.7
19.5
9.2
11.6
21.2

18.2
9.9
22.3
7.5
14.7
17.4
13.2
10.1
10.3
19.6
8.8
25.0
11.0
31.3
17.6
14.7
20.4
9.7
12.6
22.8

19.6
11.0
24.2
8.1
16.1
18.8
14.5
11.1
11.2
21.0
9.4
27.4
11.9
33.6
18.9
16.1
21.8
10.6
14.0
25.1

22.0
13.0
27.3
9.4
18.5
21.0
16.9
12.8
12.8
23.2
10.4
31.2
13.5
37.0
21.2
18.4
24.4
12.4
16.4
28.8

26.1
16.8
32.8
12.0
23.0
25.2
21.0
16.2
15.4
27.3
12.1
38.0
16.3
43.2
25.1
22.9
29.3
16.2
20.9
35.7

29.8
20.6
37.7

27.1
29.0
25.0
19.5
17.9
31.2
13.7
44.2
18.8
48.9
28.6
27.0
33.7
20.3
25.1
42.0

33.2
24.4
42.2

30.8
32.5

34.8
15.3
49.9
21.1
54.3
31.9
30.7
37.6
24.5
29.0
47.9

36.4
28.2
46.4

34.2
35.6

38.4
16.9
55.2
23.3
59.4
34.9
34.0
41.3
28.6
32.6
53.4

39.4
31.9
50.4

37.4
38.6

41.8
18.4
60.2
25.3
64.4
37.8
37.0
44.7
32.6
36.1
58.6

For viscosity of gases Pa s is a convenient size of unit. From the kinetic theory the viscosity is expected to be independent of
pressure and to vary as the square root of the absolute temperature. The first is true except at very low and at high pressures; the
second requires correction. Dividing the kinetic theory expression by a correction factor which is a linear function of the reciprocal of
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Viscosities 2.2.3

the absolute temperature leads to Sutherlands formula = KT3/2/(T + C), where K and C are constants characteristic of the gas.
For higher accuracy a polynomial can be used instead of a linear factor.

(ii) Viscosities of some gases at high pressure. /Pa s (all at 300 K)

Gas

Pressure/MPa
2

Air . .
Argon .
Helium .
Hydrogen
Methane
Nitrogen.
Oxygen

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .

18.7
23.3
19.9
8.98
11.6
18.3
20.9

10

19.3
24.0
19.9
9.01
12.3
18.9
21.5

20.5
25.7
20.0
9.09
14.0
20.1
22.9

20
23.7
30.5
20.1
9.31
19.2
23.2
27.1

30
27.5
36.4
20.3
9.59
24.7
26.8
32.2

(iii) Viscosity of nitrogen at high pressure. /Pa s.

Temperature/K

Pressure/MPa

200
250
300
350
400
500

10

20

30

50

14.6
16.7
18.9
20.9
22.9
26.5

17.6
18.5
20.1
21.9
23.7
27.1

26.4
23.1
23.2
24.2
25.5
28.4

34.9
28.4
26.8
26.9
27.6
29.9

48.9
38.8
34.4
32.7
32.3
33.2

References
Barrer (1943) Trans. Farad., 39, 48.
Bingham and Jackson (1918) National Bureau of Standards, Bulletin, 14, 59.
P. W. Bridgman (1926) Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci., 61, 5799.
J. H. Dymond, J. Robertson and J. D. Isdale (1981) Int. J. Thermophysics, 2(2), 133154; ibid., 2(3), 223236.
Engineering Science Data (ESDU) Physical Data (196683) Chemical Engineering, vol. 3, Viscosity, London.
International Critical Tables (1928).
G. J. Janz (1968) NSRDS-NBS 15, report, Natl. Bur. Standards, Washington.
Kestin, Sokolov and Wakeham (1978) J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data, 7(3), 941.
Landolt-Brnstein (1969) Vol. II, Properties of Matter in its Aggregated States, Part 5a, Viscosity and Diffusion, 6th edn, SpringerVerlag, Berlin.
Segur and Oberstar (1951) Ind. Eng. Chem., 43, 2117.
Smithell (1983) Metal Reference Book, 6th edn, Butterworth, London, p. 14.2.
R. H. Stokes and R. Mills (1965) Viscosity of Electrolytes and Related Properties, Pergamon Press, London.
K. J. Young (1980) PhD Thesis, University of Glasgow.
J.T.R.Watson

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