Restkippung

Restkippung is a term used in German-language technical discourse to describe the remaining tilt or inclination of an object after a tipping event or after a disturbance has been damped or removed. It denotes a residual state rather than the initial disturbance and is typically expressed as a tilt angle relative to a reference plane.

Applications and contexts vary: in geotechnical engineering, Restkippung can refer to the permanent tilt of a structure due to settlement or plastic deformation; in mechanical engineering and product design, it describes the residual orientation of a component after a corrective action or passive adjustment; in robotics and control, it may denote the post-motion orientation of a platform or arm once forces have subsided.

Influencing factors include the stiffness and damping of supports and components, friction at joints, material yielding, and boundary conditions. The goal in design and assessment is often to minimize Restkippung to meet functional and safety requirements, or to quantify long-term stability and performance under operating conditions.

Measurement and analysis typically involve determining the final tilt angle through static equilibrium calculations or small-signal assessments after perturbation. Practically, engineers measure the residual tilt with inclinometers, spirit levels, or rotational sensors and compare it to allowable limits defined by relevant standards or specifications.

Terminology and usage can vary, and Restkippung is not uniformly standardized across fields. Related concepts include residual tilt, permanent tilt, and settlement tilt. Depending on context, the term may emphasize the remaining angle after recovery, after service life, or after a disturbance in a dynamic system.