Article ID: | iaor20118761 |
Volume: | 39 |
Issue: | 5 |
Start Page Number: | 1097 |
End Page Number: | 1108 |
Publication Date: | May 2012 |
Journal: | Computers and Operations Research |
Authors: | Blum Christian, Hemmelmayr Vera, Schmid Verena |
Keywords: | programming: multiple criteria, heuristics, programming: dynamic, heuristics: local search |
The variable sized bin packing problem is a generalisation of the one‐dimensional bin packing problem. Given is a set of weighted items, which must be packed into a minimum‐cost set of bins of variable sizes and costs. This problem has practical applications, for example, in packing, transportation planning, and cutting. In this work we propose a variable neighbourhood search metaheuristic for tackling the variable sized bin packing problem. The presented algorithm can be seen as a hybrid metaheuristic, because it makes use of lower bounding techniques and dynamic programming in various algorithmic components. An extensive experimentation on a diverse set of problem instances shows that the proposed algorithm is very competitive with current state‐of‐the‐art approaches.