A quasi-human heuristic algorithm for the container loading problem

This paper presents a quasi-human heuristic algorithm (QHHA) for the container loading problem with boxes of different sizes and a single container for loading. The objective is to maximize the volume utilization of the container. Two important quasi-human strategies are considered in the algorithm proposed. The first is the maximum caving degree principle, the other is the minimum edge degree principle. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated by LN and BR test problems. For these two test problems, the average volume utilization of the container achieved by the algorithm presented is 70.6% and 88.73% within reasonable runtime, respectively. Experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm proposed is fairly efficient for solving the container loading problem.