Compression testing of modern composite materials is affected by the manner in which the compressive load is introduced. Two such effects are investigated: (1) the constrained edge effect which prevents transverse expansion and is common to all compression testing in which the specimen is gripped in the fixture; and (2) nonuniform gripping which induces bending into the specimen. An analytical model capable of quantifying these foregoing effects was developed which is based upon the principle of minimum complementary energy. For pure compression, the stresses are approximated by Fourier series. For pure bending, the stresses are approximated by Legendre polynomials.
