Solving container loading problems by block arrangement

In order to solve heterogeneous single and multiple container loading problems, an algorithm is presented that builds homogeneous blocks of identically orientated items. First a greedy heuristic is presented that generates the desired block arrangements. Second the solutions provided by the greedy heuristic are improved by a tree search. Additional aspects such as load stability and weight distribution within the container are also taken into account. The test cases of Bischoff and Ratcliff are used for benchmarking purposes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.