Finite Element Modeling of Joint Contact Mechanics With Quadratic Tetrahedral Elements

Abstract

Tetrahedral elements are one of the most popular finite element (FE) modeling primitives for complex, biological geometries, partially due to the availability of automatic meshing schemes for creating tetrahedral meshes. However, constant strain tetrahedral elements require a very fine mesh to obtain accurate solutions, and these elements can lock, yielding overly stiff results [1].