## 1 Introduction  
In recent decades, composite materials have found a wide range of applications in industries such as aerospace, civil, mechanical, defense, transport, and energy, due to their high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent mechanical properties. Moreover, these composite materials are widely used in the manufacture of structural components for noise and vibration control [1]. Despite these advantages, composite structures are subjected to various adverse conditions throughout their operational lifespan, including manufacturing defects, impacts, fatigue, and extreme environmental and operational factors. As a result, composite structures are prone to various types of damage, such as delamination, fiber breakage, matrix cracking, and matrix-fiber debonding. In some cases, these failure modes intertwine, exacerbating the situation. Many of these damages are barely visible externally, yet they can propagate rapidly, leading to major structural failures. Therefore, monitoring the health of such structures and detecting damage early is crucial for ensuring safety and economic sustainability. Among all damage types, delamination is considered the most detrimental, and thus, the present study focuses exclusively on this form of damage. The presence of delamination affects stiffness and mass matrices, often creating undesirable material discontinuities. These changes can be detected by analyzing structural responses obtained through static loading, infrared thermography, vibration excitation, acoustic emission, and ultrasonic excitation. Each of these Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) methods are well established has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the specific application. The current work focuses on analyzing the static response of delaminated plates. Many damage assessment approaches rely on baseline undamaged data as a reference point. However, obtaining undamaged data from a real-life structure is not always feasible. In these situations, FEM-based digital twins of the structures can be highly beneficial. Accurate prediction of response features relies on an accurate FE model of the structures. [PERSON] [2] provided a detailed review of FE modeling and various theories related to composite plates. The major plate theories used to model composite plates include classical laminate plate theory (CLPT) [3], first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) [4], and layer-wise theory [5], among others. In the present study, a degenerated Mindlin-type curved shell element [6] is used to model laminated composites of arbitrary shapes. These elements do not rely on a particular shell theory, allowing them to efficiently model both thick and thin laminates [7]. Additionally, reduced-order numerical integration [8] and enhanced strain interpolation [9] are employed to alleviate shear and membrane locking. Several numerical models for delaminated laminates have been developed by researchers over the years, such as layer-wise theory-based models [10; 11], interlaminar shear stress-based continuity theory models [12], higher-order plate theory-based models [13], analytical models satisfying both interfacial traction continuity and interfacial displacement jump conditions [14], and higher-order zigzag theory-based models [15], among others. In addition to these, [PERSON] et al. [16] developed a degenerated element to predict the delaminated vibration responses of composite plates. In all the literature discussed above, only the linear components of strains have been considered. However, in real-life scenarios, these linear assumptions do not hold. Composite structures are often subjected to large deformations, leading to significant alterations in stiffness and stress distribution, making linear assumptions inadequate [17]. Additionally, the anisotropy in composite materials necessitates incorporating geometric nonlinearity in FE models to accurately predict the complex interactions between layers with different orientations [18].