A reference quality equation of state for nitrogen

A new formulation describing the thermodynamic properties of nitrogen has been developed. New data sets which have been used to improve the representation of the p- rho -T surface of gaseous, liquid and supercritical nitrogen, including the saturated states are now available. New measurements on the speed of sound from spherical resonators have been used to improve the accuracy of caloric properties in gaseous and supercritical nitrogen. State-of-the-art algorithms for the optimization of the mathematical structure of the equation and special functional forms for an improved description of the critical region were used to represent even the most accurate data within their experimental uncertainty. The uncertainty in density of the new reference equation of state ranges from plus or minus 0.01% between 270 and 350 K at pressures less than 12 MPa, within plus or minus 0.02% over all other temperatures less than 550 K and pressures less than 12 MPa, and up to a maximum of plus or minus 0.6% at the highest pressures. The equation is valid from the triple point to temperatures of 1000 K and pressures up to 2200 MPa. The new formulation yields a reasonable extrapolation up to the limits of chemical stability of nitrogen as indicated by comparison to experimental shock tube data. Constraints regarding the structure of the equation ensure reasonable extrapolated properties up to temperatures and pressures of 5000 K and 25 GPa. For typical calibration applications, the new reference equation is supplemented by a simple but also highly accurate formulation, valid only for supercritical nitrogen between 270 and 350 K at pressures up to 30 MPa.