Fluid Properties

Fluid Properties

1. Compressibility

   • Measured by bulk modulus of elasticity
     • The relationship between the change in pressure and the change in fractional volume or change in fractional density
       • Units: Pa
         • High value of Bulk modulus of elasticity - incompressible Low value of Bulk modulus of elasticity- compressible

2. Vapor Pressure

   • Absolute pressure when liquids boil
     • Figure 2: This charr shows that generally a substance's vapor pressure increases as temperature increases. (ChemWiki)
   • Is also known as saturation pressure

3. Surface Tension

   • Surface tension works under the principle of cohesive force, which is the attractive forces between like molecules. Within the interior of a liquid, molecules are attracted equally in all direction. However, molecules at the surface are pulled inward due to the imbalance attractive forces.
     • Hence, liquid tends to minimize surface area.
       • Surface tension decreases with temperature.
         • Figure 1: This shows that the surface tension for all densities of oil decreases when temperature increases. (Abdul-Majeed and Abu Al-Soof, 2000)
       • Surface tension is greatly affected by the presence of impurities.
         • The usage of surfactants to weaken the surface tension in the oil and gas industry.
   • Units: N/m or lb/ft

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