Postbuckling analysis of laminated composites with delaminations is pr
esented. A finite element method based on a layerwise laminated compos
ite plate theory is developed to formulate and solve the problem. Geom
etric nonlinearity in the sense of von Karman and imperfections in the
form of initial global deflection and initial delamination openings a
re included. A simple contact algorithm which precludes the physically
inadmissible overlapping between delaminated surfaces Is proposed and
incorporated into the analysis. Numerical results are obtained for th
rough the-width delaminations addressing the effects of the magnitude
and direction of initial imperfections, laminate stacking sequence, an
d the contact condition between the delaminated surfaces on the postbu
ckling response. The proposed approach is shown to be efficient and po
werful for solving the class of problems mentioned.