The viscosity of gaseous propane and its initial density dependence

Results of five series of high-precision viscosity measurements on gaseous propane, each differing in density, are reported. The measurements were performed in a quartz oscillating-disk viscometer with small gaps from room temperature up to about 625 K and for densities between 0.01 and 0.05 mol · L^–1. The experimental data were evaluated with a first-order expansion, in terms of density, for the viscosity. Reduced values of the second viscosity virial coefficients deduced from the zero-density and initial-density viscosity coefficients for propane and for furthern-alkanes are in close agreement with the theoretical representation of the Rainwater-Friend theory for the potential parameter ratios by Bich and Vogel. A new representation of the viscosity of propane in the limit of zero density is provided using the new experimental data and some data sets from literature. The universal correlation based on the extended principle of corresponding states extends over the temperature range 293 to 625 K with an uncertainty of ±0.5 % and deviates from earlier representations by about 1 % at the upper temperature limit.