Analysis of Error Caused by Replacing Spherical Shell with an Elastic Plate Model in Studying Bending Deformation of the Lithosphere  

作　　者：Wu Hongling Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100081 Wang Ren Center for Geodynamics Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871 

出　　处：《Journal of Earth Science》1998年第2期3-7,共5页地球科学学刊（英文版）

摘　　要：To study the bending deformation of the lithosphere, the simplification of replacing a spherical shell by a plate model is usually made. Based on the differential equations for the bending of plates and shallow spherical shells, an expression for the error caused by such a simplification is derived in this paper. The effect of model sizes on the error is discussed. It is proved that if we replace the shallow spherical shell by a plate model to solve the bending deformation of lithospheric plate, a large error will be caused. In contrast, if we use a plate on an elastic foundation instead, an approximate solution closer to that of spherical shell can be obtained. In such a way, the error can be reduced effectively and the actual geological condition can be modeled more closely.To study the bending deformation of the lithosphere, the simplification of replacing a spherical shell by a plate model is usually made. Based on the differential equations for the bending of plates and shallow spherical shells, an expression for the error caused by such a simplification is derived in this paper. The effect of model sizes on the error is discussed. It is proved that if we replace the shallow spherical shell by a plate model to solve the bending deformation of lithospheric plate, a large error will be caused. In contrast, if we use a plate on an elastic foundation instead, an approximate solution closer to that of spherical shell can be obtained. In such a way, the error can be reduced effectively and the actual geological condition can be modeled more closely.

关 键 词：plate model spherical shell model earth curvature bending deformation of lithosphere. 

分 类 号：P554[天文地球—构造地质学] P313.2[天文地球—地质学]