orthotropic, a. Bot.
(ɔːθəʊˈtrɒpɪk)
[f. as orthotrop-ous + -ic.]
1. Growing vertically upwards or downwards, as a root or stem.
| 1886 Vines Physiol. Plants xvii. 425 Sachs has observed that the young primary shoot of Tropæolum majus is at first orthotropic. Ibid., The primary shoot of the seedling [of ivy] is..at first orthotropic, and radial. |
2. Having three mutually perpendicular planes of elastic symmetry at each point.
| 1943 Q. Appl. Math. I. 128 Another important special case is that of an orthotropic elliptic plate bent by a linear load, for which the solution is new. 1963 P. Fern tr. Lekhnitskii's Theory Elasticity of Anisotropic Elastic Body i. 21 Delta-wood and plywood can be considered as homogeneous and orthotropic in the first approximation. 1971 P. J. Dowling in K. C. Rockey et al. Devel. in Bridge Design & Constr. 557 After the war the orthotropic deck bridge was developed and this form of bridge has now become a common form of construction..where saving in weight or depth of construction are important parameters. 1975 Cusens & Pama Bridge Deck Anal. i. 18 For long-span steel bridges, the deck is frequently a plate with longitudinal stiffeners (stringers). This form of construction is known to steel designers as an orthotropic plate. |