Ritz Method for Space Plates
The Rayleigh–Ritz method enables one to reduce an infinite number of degrees-of-freedom of a system into a finite number, which makes analysis possible and easier. The method relies on the approximation of the possible deformation shapes of the system, following the basic idea beyond Rayleigh's principle. A proper combination of these deformation shapes is supposed to reproduce roughly the expected overall vibration pattern and natural frequencies. Following the Ritz method the family of curves over which the values of the functional are calculated is obtained by a linear combination of functions.