Constants library
15 values, each with its units, its uncertainty, and where it came from.
Material Properties 15
Density of Seawater measured
kg/m³Representative density of open-ocean seawater at 35 g/kg salinity and 15 °C, about 1025 kg/m³ or 64 lb/ft³ at the surface.
Density of Ice at 0 °C measured
kg/m³Density of ordinary hexagonal ice at 0 °C and 1 atm, about 917 kg/m³ — roughly 8 % lighter than the water it freezes from.
Density of Mercury at 20 °C measured
kg/m³Density of liquid mercury at 20 °C and 1 atm, 13 534 kg/m³ — 13.5 times water, and the basis of the mmHg pressure unit.
Thermal Expansion Coefficient of PVC measured
1/KLinear expansion coefficient of rigid PVC pipe, about 54 µm/(m·K) or 3.0 µin/(in·°F) — nearly five times that of steel.
Dynamic Viscosity of Water at 20 °C measured
Pa·sDynamic viscosity of pure water at 20 °C and 1 atm, 1.002 mPa·s — the value that made the centipoise a de facto standard.
Dynamic Viscosity of Air at 20 °C measured
Pa·sDynamic viscosity of dry air at 20 °C and 1 atm, 18.1 µPa·s — about 1/55 of water's, though its kinematic viscosity is 15× larger.
Dynamic Viscosity of SAE 30 Oil measured
Pa·sDynamic viscosity of a typical SAE 30 mineral engine oil at 40 °C, roughly 0.088 Pa·s — about 90 times that of water at 20 °C.
Absolute Roughness of Commercial Steel Pipe measured
mAbsolute roughness ε of new commercial steel or wrought-iron pipe, 0.046 mm (0.00015 ft) — the Moody-chart default.
Absolute Roughness of Drawn Tubing and Plastic Pipe measured
mAbsolute roughness ε of drawn copper tube, glass and smooth plastic pipe, about 0.0015 mm — 30 times smoother than steel.
Absolute Roughness of Cast Iron Pipe measured
mAbsolute roughness ε of new uncoated cast iron pipe, about 0.26 mm — five times rougher than steel, and far worse when tuberculated.
Hazen-Williams C for Plastic Pipe measured
—Hazen-Williams roughness coefficient for smooth plastic pipe such as PVC, PE and CPVC, conventionally taken as 150 for design.
Hazen-Williams C for Cast Iron Pipe measured
—Hazen-Williams roughness coefficient for aged unlined cast iron pipe, typically 100 — new pipe is near 130, badly tuberculated near 60.
Manning's n for Concrete Channels measured
—Manning roughness coefficient for finished concrete channels and pipe, typically 0.013 with a defensible range of 0.011 to 0.016.
Bulk Modulus of Water measured
PaIsothermal bulk modulus of liquid water at 20 °C and 1 atm, about 2.18 GPa — a 0.005 % volume change per bar of pressure.
Vapour Pressure of Water at 20 °C measured
PaSaturation vapour pressure of water at 20 °C, 2339 Pa (0.339 psia) — the absolute pressure at which 20 °C water boils.