*2.3. Numerical Finite Element (FE) Solution and Convergence*

The simulation is implemented in the applied ANSYS Mechanical APDL engineering analysis package (ANSYS Inc., Canonsburg, PA, USA). Volume finite elements SOLID185 (four-node tetrahedra) with Lagrangian approximation and three degrees of freedom at each node are used. Contact gluing is modeled in the inlay-tooth interface zones, taking into account friction. The model eliminates the divergence of contact surfaces and appearance of sliding zones. The contact interaction is modeled using a contact pair of elements (CONTA173, TARGE170). The surface-surface contact is considered. The contact algorithm is the extended Lagrange method.

The finite element partition of the model is chosen within the assessment of the influence of the system discretization degree on the numerical solution of the problem. The minimum overall dimension of the finite element near the tooth-inlay contact area is 0.05 mm. When moving away from the contact zone, the size of the finite elements increases in a gradient. The maximum overall dimension of the final element reaches 0.15 mm.
