Rotating thin cylinder: Effect of small error in circularity

The error-modified, circular, mean-line form is represented by an elliptic profile and equations are developed for bending moment, tensile and shear forces resulting from inertia loading. It is shown that the maximum values of tensile force and bending moment both occur at the same location if the ratio of principal axes lengths is less than, or equal to, 1.09. For a cylinder having a mean-diameter-to-wall-thickness ratio of one hundred and with a difference in principal axes lengths of 0.1 per cent, the maximum stress is shown to be 1.33 times that in a perfectly circular cylinder. When the difference in the length of principal axes is increased to 0.4 per cent, this stress intensification factor increases to 1.75.