Research Reports from the Department of Operations
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Date
8-1-1988
Abstract
The problem of packing a set of boxes into a container (e.g., a truck) has prompted research efforts that have produced various solution techniques. Most published work, however, concentrates on the one and two dimensional packing problem and very little has been published in the area of three dimensional packing. Potential applications of this packing situation includes loading of shipping containers or trucks, warehouse design, etc. The present research investigates a three dimensional packing problem where one tries to pack various types of boxes (with different sizes) in various types of containers with the objective that the total cost of containers used is minimized. This paper presents a heuristic algorithm based on the integer programming formulation of this problem. The tasks undertaken include design, implementation and testing of the proposed algorithm.
Keywords
Operations research, Heuristic algorithms, Integer programming, Business logistics, Physical distribution of goods, Materials management
Publication Title
Master's thesis/Technical Memorandums from the Department of Operations, School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
Issue
Technical memorandum no. 660 ; Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science.
Rights
This work is in the public domain and may be freely downloaded for personal or academic use
Recommended Citation
Ivancic, Nancy J., "An Integer Programming Based Heuristic Approach to the Three Dimensional Packing Problem" (1988). Research Reports from the Department of Operations. 251.
https://commons.case.edu/wsom-ops-reports/251
