Hybrid binary ant colony algorithm for container loading problem

Container loading problem with multi-constraints is a complicated combinatorial optimization problem. It´s a NP-hard problem. In this paper, a trifurcate tree of space is designed according to the trait of this problem and available space is divided by the strategy of trifurcate tree. Binary ant colony algorithm combining heuristics is proposed to solve the container loading problem. First, using binary ant colony algorithm determine the set of preparatory loading goods. Then, using heuristics determine the priority of the goods and an effective bin-packing algorithm is given. Results of the experiment show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.