On the use of orthogonal polynomials in the study of anisotropic plates

Abstract

After Walter Ritz had presented in 1908 his now famous variational method, interest was particularly shown by several mathematicians from whom the substantiation of the method has received lengthy treatment [1–5]. On the other hand, investigators in the field of applied sciences generated an immense quantity of papers in which approximate solutions of various problems of mathematical physics where constructed with the aid of the Ritz method. Particularly, this method has been used extensively over the years to study the problem of flexural vibrations of rectangular isotropic, orthotropic and anisotropic plates.