Applications of a weighted symmetrization inequality to elastic membranes and plates

This paper is devoted to some applications of a weighted symmetrization inequality related to a second order boundary value problem. We first interpret the inequality in the context of elastic membranes, and observe that it lends itself to make a comparison between the deflection of a membrane with a varying density with that of a membrane with a uniform density. Some mathematical consequences of the inequality including a stability result are presented. Moreover, a similar inequality where the underlying differential equation is of fourth order is also discussed.