Laminated cylindrical shells are already commonly used in structural engineering, and their buckling and post-buckling behavior is of vital importance in the design of such structures. The validity of linear buckling analysis in this context, has been questioned because of the discrepancy observed between theoretical prediction and test results. The cause of this discrepancy is the fact that the nonlinear behavior of shell-like structures is generally characterized by a limit point rather than by a bifurcation point. For such structures, the load-carrying capacity depends on the level of imperfection (hence the concept "imperfection sensitivity"). The motivation is, therefore, to reduce the sensitivity rather than preventing the imperfection. For that purpose insight into the post-buckling state is called for.
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