The Minima of Viscosities

Abstract

The Trachenko–Brazhkin equation of the minimal possible viscosity is analysed, emphasising its validity by the account of multibody interactions between flowing species through some effective masses replacing their true (bare) masses. Pressure affects the effective masses, decreasing them and shifting the minimal viscosity and the temperature at which it is attained to higher values. The analysis shows that effective masses in the Trachenko–Brazhkin equation are typically lighter compared bare masses; e.g., for tin (Sn) the effective mass is m = 0.21mSn, whereas for supercritical argon (Ar), it changes from m = 0.165mAr to m = 0.129mAr at the pressures of 20 and 100 MPa, respectively.