THE THERMAL-CONDUCTIVITY OF ETHANE IN THE CRITICAL REGION

New experimental data are presented for the thermal conductivity of ethane. The thermal conductivity has been measured with a parallel-plate method as a function of temperature along eleven different isochores so as to obtain detailed information on the enhancement of the thermal conductivity in the critical region. The experimental results appear to be consistent with a recently proposed theoretical equation that accounts for both the asymptotic and nonasymptotic critical behavior of the thermal conductivity of fluids. © 1990 American Institute of Physics.