Rotstress

Rotstress is a term encountered in some mechanical engineering literature to describe the stress state associated with rotational motion in a solid or structure. It is not a formally standardized quantity, and its meaning can vary between authors. In general, rotstress refers to the stresses induced by centrifugal, gyroscopic, and inertia effects in rotating components such as shafts, rotors, discs, turbines, and centrifuge rotors. It is often discussed as a practical measure of how rotation influences structural integrity, separate from static loads.

In practice, rotstress can denote either the magnitude of principal stresses produced by rotation at a radius r and angular velocity omega, or a nondimensional coefficient that compares the induced stress to a material property such as yield strength. For simple models, the stresses can be derived from the equations of equilibrium in a rotating frame, combined with constitutive relations for the material, taking into account density, geometry, and boundary conditions. Finite element analysis is commonly used to obtain rotstress distributions in complex geometries.

Measurement and usage: Rotstress is used to assess failure risk in rotating machinery, inform design margins, and guide inspection intervals. Experimental methods include strain gauging on operating equipment, or visualization techniques in transparent analog models; simulations often supplement measurements. Limitations include variability in definition, reliance on model assumptions, and the fact that real-world stress fields may include transient and thermal effects not always captured by a single rotstress metric. See also centrifugal stress, hoop stress, residual stress, gyroscopic effect, finite element analysis.