A new metaheuristic genetic-based placement algorithm for 2D strip packing

Abstract

Given a container of fixed width, infinite height and a set of rectangular block, the 2D-strip packing problem consists of orthogonally placing all the rectangles such that the height is minimized. The position is subject to confinement of no overlapping of blocks. The problem is a complex NP-hard combinatorial optimization, thus a heuristic based on genetic algorithm is proposed to solve it. In this paper, we give a hybrid approach which combined genetic encoding and evolution scheme with the proposed placement approach. Such a combination resulted in better population evolution and faster solution convergence to optimal. The approach is subjected to a comprehensive test using benchmark instances. The computation results validate the solution and the effectiveness of the approach. © 2014, The Author(s).