Kirkwood Theory of Shear Viscosity in a Simple Dense Fluid

Abstract

The molecular theory of momentum transport in dense fluids developed by Kirkwood is examined for the case of the Lennard-lones (12,6) fluid. The radial distribution functions and one-particle friction constants used are based on molecular dynamics studies. Shear viscosity coefficients calculated with elk = 120 K and 0' = 3.405x10- 10 m vary from one-third to two-thirds of comparable experimental data for argon. The significance of an approximate relationship between the pair friction tensor and the one-particle friction constant is discussed.