Influence of the choice of a rheological law on computer simulation results of slab subduction

The influence of the choice of the type of the yield surface for elastoplastic materials and material constants for the plate and the mantle on the scenario of mathematical modeling of the plates collision is investigated. Computer simulation is performed by the FEM numerical solution of nonlinear equations for deformable solid mechanics using MSC.Marc 2005 code. The simulation results essentially depend on the choice of material constants for the plate and the mantle, as well as on the type of the yield surface for the elastoplastic material of a subducting plate. The presented numerical simulations have demonstrated that the primary driving mechanism of subduction can be a geometrical inhomogeneity of the subduction plate near to a zone of plates collision, by providing a simultaneous consideration of the consolidation of a plate material as this plate descends into the mantle.