Viscosity measurements of hydrogen at high temperatures up to 573 K by a curved vibrating wire method

Abstract

The viscosities of hydrogen were measured at temperatures of (296 to 573)K and at pressures up to 0.7MPa by the vibrating wire method. In this study, a tungsten wire 50μm in diameter and 24mm in length is bent into semicircular form. The direction of the vibrating motion is fixed using the curved wire, and a more compact sample vessel can be used than in a traditional straight vibrating wire method requiring weight for the tension in the wire. Alternating voltages with different frequencies were supplied to the curved wire, which was set between samarium cobalt magnets. The generated induced voltages depending on the supplied frequencies were measured by a lock-in amplifier, and the resonant curve was obtained. The resonant frequency and half-width of the resonant curve were determined by curve fitting. The wire’s effective diameter and internal friction coefficient, which represents the damping from the wire material and the magnetic force, are very important parameters for evaluating the viscosities, and they were precisely calibrated by measuring helium and nitrogen as reference fluids. Finally, the viscosities of hydrogen were obtained with an uncertainty of 1.4% (k=2).