An Improved Optimization Algorithm for the Container Loading Problem

Container loading problem is a kind of space resources optimization problem which consists of various constraints. The solution can be extended to aircraft, cargo loading for ships, even the memory allocation for computer, and other applications. This paper proposes a new algorithm for loading a variety of different goods into a single container with multi-batches. With the concept of "plane" and "block", the algorithm uses "depth priority" strategy to locate for the suitable space. The algorithm also allows goods to rotate in any possible directions, while under the guarantee of efficient space usage, it improves the placement stability. With the priorities of each goods assigned by the algorithm, we should could allocate more goods at the same location. The optimal algorithm is supposed to withdraw when the last batch packing is unsuitable. Experimental results show that the algorithm is effective to solve such problems.