25/04/2022, 14:07 What are the Differences between Dynamic and Kinematic Viscosities?

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Viscosity Measurements | 2 min read

What are the Differences

between Dynamic and
Kinematic Viscosities?
Written by RheoSense
September 26, 2015

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25/04/2022, 14:07 What are the Differences between Dynamic and Kinematic Viscosities?

Viscosity is a fundamental material property when studying fluid flow for any application.
The two most common types of viscosity are dynamic and kinematic. The relationship
between these two properties is quite straightforward.

Dynamic viscosity (also known as absolute viscosity) is the measurement of the fluid’s
internal resistance to flow while kinematic viscosity refers to the ratio of dynamic viscosity to
density. Based on the expression above, two fluids with the same dynamic viscosities can
have very different kinematic viscosities depending on density and vice versa. As a result,
grasping the physical meaning of these two material properties may not always be so easy.

Simply put, dynamic viscosity gives you information on the force needed to make the
fluid flow at a certain rate, while kinematic viscosity tells how fast the fluid is moving
when a  certain force is applied.

The internal resistance of a fluid to flow (dynamic viscosity) implies that there is a force
involved in displacing a fluid. That force (F) is proportional to:

1)      Shear Rate (SR)

2)      Surface Area (A)

3)      Dynamic Viscosity (η)

F = ηA×SR

In the expression above (Newton’s law of viscosity), dynamic viscosity works as the
proportionality constant between the stress F/A and the rate of deformation or shear rate.
An alternative way to think about kinematic viscosity is to realize that it has units of
diffusivity [cm2/s]. For this reason, kinematic viscosity is sometimes referred as diffusivity of
momentum in analogy to thermal and mass diffusivities.  In this sense, dynamic viscosity is
a more fundamental property while kinematic viscosity is a derived one.

Historically, viscosity measurements methods opted for kinematic viscosity since it does not
involve measuring a force. In most “kinematic” viscometers, the fluid flow is driven by gravity
(g). These methods (capillary tubes, funnels…) just measure the time that the fluid takes to

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25/04/2022, 14:07 What are the Differences between Dynamic and Kinematic Viscosities?

flow through a given geometry. More advanced viscometers rely on measuring shear stress
at a given rate of shear. This enables a much more complete characterization of the viscosity
fingerprint (i.e. Viscosity vs shear rate) of complex non-Newtonian fluids.  

Another difference between these two properties is the uniqueness of their units. Dynamic
viscosity units are well established mPa-s in SI units or the equivalent cP (centipoises) in
CGS. On the other hand, most common kinematic viscosity units are cm2/s in SI units and
cSt (centistokes) in CGS, but it is also measured in a number of arbitrary units depending on
the industry or application. Such is the case of Saybolt Universal Seconds (SUS) in the
petroleum industry where the time required for 60 cm3 of fluid take to flow through a
calibrated tube at 38°C is used as a measurement of viscosity. Another example is the use of
“cups” to measure the time that a given sample take to flow through a funnel of a given
geometry. These methods are often used as viscosity indexers since they are not ideal to
obtain consistent results that can be shared between different laboratories.

So which one should you use? If you are interested in the interaction between molecules
that can be interpreted in terms of mechanical stress, then dynamic viscosity is more
appropriate. Dynamic viscosity will allow you to establish, for example, the effect that
formulation changes have in regards of molecular interaction and viscosity. In contrast,
kinematic viscosity has been the standard in oil industries because of the simplicity of the
kinematic viscometers. For this reason, kinematic viscosity has been more convenient when
the interest is the fluid motion and velocity field since it carries the information about the
propagation of movement by friction. RheoSense’s VROC® technology represents a new
paradigm in viscometry, allowing fast and easy measurements of dynamic viscosity that are
just Simply Precise™.

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Comments (10)

Dan Tall
28/11/2017, 03:08:51

Each time I look for information it shows Wikipedia but this is obviously
way much better. Thanks for saving my bu**. Working on a school
project. Thanks

 Respond to Dan Tall

Marvin Shplarvin
30/09/2018, 02:13:33

Yo dan what word did you censor

 Respond to Marvin Shplarvin

Salloom Salim
25/03/2020, 23:43:58

Good job


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25/04/2022, 14:07 What are the Differences between Dynamic and Kinematic Viscosities?

 Respond to Salloom Salim

19/05/2018, 20:52:27

 Respond to

teacher to students
07/05/2019, 06:57:21

thank you, the details are quite useful.

Little confusion still persists when Kinematic viscosity is said as how fast
the fluid is moving (because this is shear rate: rate at which fluid is
sheared)

 Respond to teacher to students

Sowjanya Reddy
15/07/2019, 21:59:33

I always look for the Wikipedia answers.. But, this time it's much better
than that, every point is clear and easy to understand in conceptual way..
Thank you for the clarification on this topic

 Respond to Sowjanya Reddy

Murugesan Vijayakumar
30/07/2019, 16:45:52 

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25/04/2022, 14:07 What are the Differences between Dynamic and Kinematic Viscosities?

I am using DIN 4 CUP to measure paint viscosity, Appreciate if could

explain little bit on conversion factor to be used to express in mPa-s

 Respond to Murugesan Vijayakumar

Bhushan Bhairannavar
04/08/2019, 11:29:09

I like this detail study. And actual meaning of terms

 Respond to Bhushan Bhairannavar

krunal ashokbhai
10/09/2019, 19:09:20

nice work inspire you very help full me

 Respond to krunal ashokbhai

Rishabh Manglunia
01/10/2019, 22:29:49

this is the best explanation of kinematic viscosity that I found on the

internet. Thank you for making kinematic and dynamic viscosity more
intuitive...great explanation once again! Thank you so much!

 Respond to Rishabh Manglunia

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