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3111. Evaluating stability and efficiency: insights from incorporating static stability constraints in online 3D packing heuristics

Invited abstract in session MC-7: Cutting and Packing 3 - 3D loading, stream Cutting and Packing (ESICUP).

Monday, 12:30-14:00
Room: 1019 (building: 202)

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Sara Ali
INESC TEC, Faculty of Engineering, INESC TEC
2. António Ramos
INESC TEC, ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto
3. José Fernando Oliveira
INESC TEC, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto

Abstract

Static stability is one of the most important packing requirements, preventing items from collapsing and preserving the safety of operators and cargo during loading/unloading operations. This constraint has often been oversimplified in existing online 3D heuristics, limiting their practicability in real-world settings. Given the diverse impacts of different static stability constraints on solution quality, we embedded four constraints, i.e., full-base, partial-base, and two polygon-based constraints, into online heuristics. The impact of constraints on the heuristics' efficiency regarding bin volume utilization is analyzed on a real dataset. Moreover, the static stabilities of packing layouts in all solutions obtained under four constraints are benchmarked using the static mechanical equilibrium (SME). The SME approach offers a necessary and sufficient condition for cargo stability, yet its application proves to be very time-consuming and impractical in the online context, leading us to use it as a benchmark. The results showed that a high percentage of items (i.e., over 87%) are statically stable under all constraints. The findings also indicate a trade-off between increasing items' stability and increasing the bins' volume utilization. This study offered valuable insights for practitioners in selecting appropriate static stability based on their preferences in prioritizing item stability or efficient bins' volume utilization.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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