VISCOSIDAD (VISCOSITY)

The viscosity of a fluid is an important property in the analysis of liquid behavior and fluid motion
near solid boundaries.
The viscosity is the fluid resistance to shear or flow and is a measure of the adhesive/cohesive or
frictional fluid property. The resistance is caused by intermolecular friction exerted when layers of
fluids attempt to slide by one another.
Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's resistance to flow
The knowledge of viscosity is needed for proper design of required temperatures for storage,
pumping or injection of fluids.
There are two related measures of fluid viscosity - known as dynamic (or absolute)
and kinematic viscosity.
Dynamic (absolute) Viscosity
Absolute viscosity or the coefficient of absolute viscosity is a measure of the internal resistance.
Dynamic (absolute) viscosity is the tangential force per unit area required to move one horizontal
plane with respect to the other at unit velocity when maintained a unit distance apart by the fluid.
The shearing stress between the layers of non turbulent fluid moving in straight parallel lines can be
defined for a Newtonian fluid as:

The dynamic or absolute viscosity can be expressed like
= dc/dy (1)
where
= shearing stress
= dynamic viscosity
Equation (1) is known as the Newtons Law of Friction.
In the SI system the dynamic viscosity units are N s/m
2
, Pa s or kg/m s where
1 Pa s = 1 N s/m
2
= 1 kg/m s
The dynamic viscosity is also often expressed in the metric CGS (centimeter-gram-second) system
as g/cm.s, dyne.s/cm
2
orpoise (p) where
1 poise = dyne s/cm
2
= g/cm s = 1/10 Pa s
For practical use the Poise is to large and it's usual divided by 100 into the smaller unit called
the centiPoise (cP) where
1 p = 100 cP
Water at 68.4
o
F (20.2
o
C) has an absolute viscosity of one - 1 - centiPoise.
Kinematic Viscosity
is the ratio of absolute or dynamic viscosity to density - a quantity in which no force is involved.
Kinematic viscosity can be obtained by dividing the absolute viscosity of a fluid with it's mass
density
= / (2)
where = kinematic viscosity
= absolute or dynamic viscosity
= density
In the SI-system the theoretical unit is m
2
/s or commonly used Stoke (St) where
1 St = 10
-4
m
2
/s
Since the Stoke is an unpractical large unit, it is usual divided by 100 to give the unit
called Centistokes (cSt) where
1 St = 100 cSt
1 cSt = 10
-6
m
2
/s
Since the specific gravity of water at 68.4
o
F (20.2
o
C) is almost one (1), the kinematic viscosity of
water at 68.4
o
F is for all practical purposes 1.0 cSt.
Viscosity and Reference Temperatures
The viscosity of a fluid is highly temperature dependent and for either dynamic or kinematic
viscosity to be meaningful, the reference temperature must be quoted. In ISO 8217 the reference
temperature for a residual fluid is 100
o
C. For a distillate fluid the reference temperature is 40
o
C.
For a liquid - the kinematic viscosity will decrease with higher temperature
For a gas - the kinematic viscosity will increase with higher temperature
Other Commonly used Viscosity Units
Saybolt Universal Seconds (or SUS, SSU)
Saybolt Universal Seconds (or SUS) is used to measure viscosity. The efflux time is Saybolt
Universal Seconds (SUS) required for 60 milliliters of a petroleum product to flow through the
calibrated orifice of a Saybolt Universal viscometer, under carefully controlled temperature and as
prescribed by test method ASTM D 88. This method has largely been replaced by the kinematic
viscosity method. Saybolt Universal Seconds is also called the SSU number (Seconds Saybolt
Universal) or SSF number (Saybolt Seconds Furol).
Kinematic viscosity versus dynamic or absolute viscosity can be expressed as
= 4.63 / SG (3)
where
= kinematic vicosity (SSU)
= dynamic or absolute viscosity (cP)
SG = Specific Gravity