Application of a mixed simulated annealing–genetic algorithm heuristic for the two-dimensional orthogonal packing problem

In this paper a pure meta-heuristic (genetic algorithm) and a mixed meta-heuristic (simulated annealing–genetic algorithm) were applied to two-dimensional orthogonal packing problems and the results were compared. The major motivation for applying a modified genetic algorithm is as an attempt to alleviate the problem of premature convergence. We found that in the long run, the mixed heuristic produces better results; while the pure heuristic produces only “good” results, but produces them faster.