Investigations of axisymmetric deformation of geometrically nonlinear, rotationally orthotropic, circular plates

Abstract Some results of qualitative investigations and of numerical solutions to the problem of axisymmetrical deformations of circular, geometrically non-linear, rotationally orthotropic plates are presented. The qualitative studies reveal certain general characteristics of behavior and proofs are obtained only on the basis of form, in analogy to the qualitative theory of differential equations. For numerical solutions we employ the shooting method in combination with the ‘deformation map’, which is similar to Poincare's phase plane.