Kinematic and Dynamic Viscosity of Diesel, Biodiesel, and JP-900 Compared to Other Non-Standard Fluids with a Demonstration of Viscosity Changes at Varying Temperatures

Viscosity is an important property to known in energy engineering. Most lubricants are named after a ranking system that is directly related to how viscous that sample is. In addition to this, liquid fuels that are too viscous cannot achieve proper combustion in engines. In this report, a sample of baby oil was tested using Saybolt Universal viscometry to illustrate how increases in temperature correlate with a decrease in viscosity. This correlation was used to determine that diesel fuel, with a kinematic viscosity of 4.09 ± 0.7 mm/s and a dynamic viscosity of 3.35 ± 0.06 mPa*s at 76°F would make a more acceptable fuel source in colder climates than biodiesel with a kinematic viscosity of 15.63 ± 2.41 mm/s and a dynamic viscosity of 14.69 ± 2.26 mPa*s. These values were determined using calibrated glass capillary viscometers. Finally, samples of baby oil, glycerine, tomato ketchup, shampoo, vanilla yogurt, and yoghurt were tested using Bohlin viscometry to determine if they would make accurate models of Newtonian fluids at 20°C. It was show that all except the baby oil and the shampoo would be acceptable for Newtonian models of viscous fluids at these conditions. Introduction Viscosity is a measure of how a fluid resists flow. In energy engineering, this is a very useful property to know. Lubricating oils are often classified by an International Standards Organization Viscosity Grade (ISO-VG) number. This number is dependent upon a minimum and maximum viscosity requirement at a specific temperature. Viscosity is also used to determine the pour-point of a liquid. This is the temperature at which a liquid no longer flows freely. Therefore, the viscosity of a sample at varying temperatures can be used on its own to give an estimate on the effective temperature range in which a sample can be used as a liquid fuel. The viscosity of a sample of baby oil with known properties was tested using Saybolt Universal Viscometry to demonstrate how viscosity changes with varying temperatures. Viscosity data of a diesel fuel, a biodiesel fuel, and JP-900 jet fuel were tested using capillary viscometry. The diesel