Abstract
We investigate the effect of a viscoelastic interfacial zone on the mechanical behavior of a transversely loaded fiber-reinforced composite. A simple linearly viscoelastic model is used to characterize the stiffness and viscosity of the interface separating the fibers and the matrix. The mechanical response is obtained using the finite element method and calculations are carried out for a unit cell in a periodic array of hexagonally packed fibers. An approximate representation of the time-dependent macroscopic behavior of the composite is derived analytically and compared with the numerical results. From a micromechanical perspective, the influence of interfacial stress relaxation on the stress fields in the matrix material contiguous to the interface is also examined.