T‐complete functions for thin and thick plates on elastic foundation

This article deals with Trefftz functional systems for thin and thick plates on one‐ and two‐parameter Winkler foundation. The T‐complete set is derived by solving the homogeneous equations of the problem. This can be done with the method of separation of variables. For each separation parameter we deal with ordinary, linear differential equations (4th order for the Kirchhoff plate and set of fourth‐ and second‐order equations for the Reissner‐Mindlin plate) so the demanded number of fundamental solutions (linearly independent) is equal to the order of equation. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2005