A new formulation for the thermodynamic properties of nitrogen has been developed.  New data sets are now available from single and dual-sinker apparatus which improve the accuracy of the representation of the prT surface of gaseous, liquid, and supercritical nitrogen, including the saturation states.  New measurements on the speed of sound from spherical resonators yield accurate information on caloric properties in gaseous and supercritical nitrogen.  Sophisticated procedures for the optimization of the mathematical structure of equations of state and special functional forms for an improved representation of data in the critical region were used.  Constraints regarding the structure of the equation ensure reasonable results up to extreme conditions of temperature and pressure.  For calibration applications, the new reference equation is supplemented by a simple but also accurate  formulation, valid only for supercritical nitrogen between 250 and 350 K at pressures up to 30 MPa.

The uncertainty in density of the new reference equation of state ranges from 0.02% at pressures less than 30 MPa up to 0.6% at very high pressures, except in the range from 270 to 350 K at pressures less than 12 MPa where the uncertainty in density is 0.01%.  The equation is valid from the triple point temperature to temperatures of 1000 K and up to pressures of 2200 MPa.  From 1000 to 1800 K, the equation was validated with data of limited accuracy.  The extrapolation behavior is reasonable up to the limits of chemical stability of nitrogen as indicated by comparison to experimental shock tube data.

• Contact: Eric Lemmon