In this paper, the fibre angle distribution, the ply drop boundaries, and the ply drop order are simultaneously optimised.
The results indicate that significantly improved designs may be obtained by including the ply drop order in the optimisation.
The ply drop order optimisation requires discrete variables and is hence approached using an evolutionary algorithm based on stacking sequence tables.
When using ply drops to optimise the thickness distribution two different set of decisions are involved: the selection of ply drop boundaries, and the selection of the ply drop order.
The result is a drop in orders.
The 0.2 percent drop in orders excluding transportation followed a 1.3 percent rise in September.
On Thursday, its rival Lennar reported a 10 percent drop in orders.
Last Friday, KB Home reported a 25 percent drop in orders, in line with the industry average.
What is more, July's drop in orders excluding transportation equipment was only the second this year.
That decline was led by a drop in orders for cars, which fell 9.6percentt in December.
