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

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