Viscosity

For some engineering calculations, particularly in hydrocarbon processing, it is necessary to estimate the viscosity of a mixture (blend) of two or more components. This article presents the Gambill and Refutas methods, which are commonly used in petroleum refining for predicting the viscosity of oil blends.

This article contains formulae and tabulated data for the properties of air as a function of temperature.

Viscosity is a measure of a fluids propensity to flow. There are two kinds of viscosity commonly reported, kinematic and dynamic. Dynamic viscosity is the relationship between the shear stress and the shear rate in a fluid. The Kinematic viscosity is the relationship between viscous and inertial forces in a fluid. Most common fluids are Newtonian fluids and their viscosity is constant with shear stress and shear rate. Non-Newtonian fluids are less common.

Fittings such as elbows, tees, valves and reducers represent a significant component of the pressure loss in most pipe systems. This article discusses the differences between several popular methods for determining the pressure loss through fittings. The methods discussed for fittings are: the equivalent length method, the K method (velocity head method or resistance coefficient method), the two-K method and the three-K method. In this article we also discuss method for calculating pressure loss through pipe size changes as well as control valves.

The Prandtl number is a dimensionless number named after the German physicist Ludwig Prandtl. It represents the ratio of molecular diffusivity of momentum to the molecular diffusivity of heat.

The Reynolds number is dimensionless and describes the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces in a flowing fluid. It is used in many fluid flow correlations and is used to describe the boundaries of fluid flow regimes (laminar, transitional and turbulent). This article will show you how to calculate and interpret the Reynolds number.