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Over the past several decades, the use of composite materials has grown considerably. Typically, fiber-reinforced polymer-matrix composites are modeled as being linear elastic. However, it is well-known that polymers are viscoelastic in nature. Furthermore, the analysis of complex structures requires a numerical approach such as the finite element method. In the present work, a triangular flat shell element for linear elastic composites is extended to model linear viscoelastic composites. Although polymers are usually modeled as being incompressible, here they are modeled as compressible. Furthermore, the macroscopic constitutive properties for fiber-reinforced composites are assumed to be known and are not determined using the matrix and fiber properties along with the fiber volume fraction. Hygrothermo-rheologically simple materials are considered for which a change in the hygrothermal environment …