This page collects specific gravity, kinematic viscosity, and dynamic (absolute) viscosity vs. temperature for a broad cross-section of fluids used across aerospace, industrial, and automotive applications including military hydraulic and lubricating oils, phosphate-ester and silicone fluids, glycols, fuels, and common reference liquids. The charts and calculators below cover the fluids listed by category in the table below.
| Category | Fluids |
|---|---|
| Reference Liquid | Water |
| Aerospace/Military Hydraulic & Lubricating Oils | MIL-PRF-7808, MIL-PRF-83282, MIL-PRF-5606, MIL-PRF-23699, MIL-PRF-6081 (1010), MIL-PRF-6082 (1100) / SAE 50, 90 & 140 Avg, MIL-PRF-6083, MIL-PRF-87257, Hatcol 2925 |
| Phosphate Ester (Skydrol) Fluids | Skydrol 500B-4, Skydrol LD-4, Skydrol 7000 |
| Silicone Fluids | Silicone Fluid 200 cS, Silicone Fluid 500 cS, Silicone Fluid 1000 cS |
| Glycols | Ethylene Glycol 100%, Ethylene Glycol/Water Mixture 50/50, Ethylene Oxide |
| Fuels & Petroleum Distillates | #4 Fuel Oil & Bunker C, Diesel Fuel, Benzene, Kerosene, Jet A, JP-4, JP-5, JP-8, MIL-C-7024 Type II, Automobile Gasoline Avg, MIL-G-5572 Aviation Gasoline |
| Solvents | Alcohol & Acetone |
| SAE Motor & Gear Oils | SAE 10 Oil, SAE 20 Oil, SAE 30 Oil, SAE 40 Oil, SAE 90 Oil, SAE 140 Oil |
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Specific gravity referenced to water at 60 °F (999.01 kg/m³).
Toggle data sets by clicking the legend. Curves for acetic acid, carbon disulfide, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, phenol, glycerine, mercury, turpentine, castor oil and linseed oil are estimates built from one room-temperature reference value plus typical expansion and viscosity-temperature coefficients; treat them as approximate. Mercury (SG 13.6) appears only with the Metals filter, so it does not flatten the scale for everything else.
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Y-axis is the ASTM D341 double-log viscosity scale, log₁₀(log₁₀ Z) with Z = ν + 0.7 plus Wright's correction below 2 cSt.
Toggle data sets by clicking the legend.
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Computed from kinematic viscosity × specific gravity (μ = ν × SG). Y-axis uses the same ASTM D341 double-log scale as the kinematic chart above.
Toggle data sets by clicking the legend.
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Density in kg/m³, converted from the specific gravity chart into absolute units.
Toggle data sets by clicking the legend.
Specific Gravity is a Contentious Unit
* SG based on static density of water of 1000 (kg/m³) *
** SG based on static density of water of 998 (kg/m³) **
*** SG based on temperature dependent density of water ***
**** °API is typically referenced at 60°F ****
- The Lee Company, Specific Gravity of Typical Fluids vs. Temperature.
- The Lee Company, Viscosities of Typical Fluids vs. Temperature — Lohm Laws: Working with Liquids. Used for every fluid except the three below.
- MIL-PRF-5606 kinematic viscosity: Conte & Hammond, NADC-79248-60 (1980), DTIC ADA081597, Table 1 — the data on the MIL-PRF-5606 Viscosity page.
- Ethylene glycol/water 50/50 kinematic viscosity: MEGlobal, Ethylene Glycol Product Guide (2013), 50 % by volume, divided by the 50 % density — the data on the Ethylene Glycol Viscosity page.
- MIL-PRF-7808 kinematic viscosity: Shell, AeroShell Turbine Oil 308 Technical Data Sheet (MIL-PRF-7808M Grade 3) typical values. The Lee chart draws 7808 and 83282 as one line; that line matches 83282.
- Skydrol 500B-4 and LD-4 kinematic viscosity: Eastman technical data sheet typical values, as on Skydrol General Properties. The Lee chart draws the two as one line.
- Automobile gasoline kinematic viscosity: Trost, Polcar, Boldor, Nde, Wolak & Kumbár, “Temperature Dependence of Density and Viscosity of Biobutanol-Gasoline Blends,” Applied Sciences 11(7), 3172 (2021), Table A5, RON 95 gasoline, −10 to 40 °C. Gasoline varies by blend and season: Mužíková et al., Journal of Fuels (2014), give 0.4–0.8 cSt at 25 °C for RON 95 and measured 0.39 cSt at 40 °C for their base gasoline. The Lee line read about twice the Trost values.
- Water: reference tables (not the Lee chart), as on the site’s water property pages.
Known limits of the Lee curves kept here:
- “SAE 90” reads 22 cSt at 100 °C. That is inside the SAE 90 band of SAE J306 before 2005 (13.5 to under 24 cSt) but above today’s band (13.5 to under 18.5 cSt), so a current SAE 90 gear oil is usually thinner.
- “Alcohol & Acetone” viscosity follows ethanol (about 1.5 cSt at 20 °C). Acetone is far thinner, about 0.4 cSt.