Estimation of viscosity
Estimation of viscosity
(OP)
If I know a certain crude oil's density and viscosity at a certain temperature, can I estimate the density and viscosity at other temperatures? How? I am new. This might be a dummy question. Thanks.





RE: Estimation of viscosity
RE: Estimation of viscosity
For viscosity, you need 2 points at two temperatures to estimate the value at a 3rd point from the methods I've seen. However, most hydrocarbons also have the log viscosity/temperature curves that are reasonably linear with other hydrocarbon fractions. If you can find someone with a set of those, I've plotted my 'fluid' on it and then extrapolated to the new temperature assuming my fluid's viscosity/temperature line has the same/similar slope. For crudes, there is more variation but the slopes still 'tend' to be similar. All depends on your accuracy requirements.
RE: Estimation of viscosity
You may find the desnity and viscosity spreadsheets at http://www.viscoanalyser.com/xls.html
useful.
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Estimation of viscosity
The variation of crude oil viscosity with temperature is heavily dependent on the type of crude - paraffinic, naphthenic, or aromatic. Generally, one needs two types of information about the crude to be able to characterize it. If you provide the density and viscosity data for your crude, I can help you develop the required estimates at other temperatures. Even better, I'll show you the steps involved so you can do it yourself next time.
As others have noted, having viscosity available at two temperatures enables prediction at other temperatures more reliably. However, if only one viscosity measurement is available along with the density, we can still do a decent job. I am assuming you need viscosity for fluid flow calculations. If not, please advise.