Based on the principle of intermolecular forces for non-polar compounds, a
simple relation is proposed for the estimation of viscosity of liquid hydro
carbons and petroleum mixtures at various temperatures from the knowledge o
f refractive index. Also some experimental data on the viscosity of some Ku
waiti light and medium petroleum fractions are reported. Evaluation of the
proposed method shows that while it is simple it is comparable with other m
ethods available in the literature. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All righ
ts reserved.