The paper presents an extended analytical approach for the interfacial tran
sverse stress that is generated by the Broutman test specimen under compres
sion, The analysis is based on the division of the specimen into a bulk reg
ion and a near fibre region. Treating separately each region a compound equ
ation for the interfacial stress can be derived. The equation also includes
residual thermal stress and fibre anisotropy. A 3D finite element model wa
s used to validate the approach. The calculations are performed for two com
monly used material systems (carbon/glass fibre, epoxy resin). A comparison
between the finite element results and the analytical solutions indicates
that the accuracy of the analytical approach is very food. (C) 2000 Elsevie
r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.