A binary search heuristic algorithm based on randomized local search for the rectangular strip-packing problem

This paper presents a binary search heuristic algorithm for the rectangular strip-packing problem. The problem is to pack a number of rectangles into a sheet of given width and infinite height so as to minimize the required height. We first transform this optimization problem into a decision problem. A least-waste-first strategy and a minimal-inflexion-first strategy are proposed to solve the related decision problem. Lastly, we develop a binary search heuristic algorithm based on randomized local search to solve the original optimization problem. The computational results on six classes of benchmark problems have shown that the presented algorithm can find better solutions within a reasonable time than the published best heuristic algorithms for most zero-waste instances. In particular, the presented algorithm is proved to be the dominant algorithm for large zero-waste instances. © 2013 INFORMS.