An enhanced whale optimization algorithm for the two-dimensional irregular strip packing problem

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an enhanced whale optimization algorithm for the two-dimensional strip packing problem, which requires cutting a given set of polygons from a sheet with fixed-width such that the used length of the sheet is minimized. Based on the original whale swarm algorithm, this algorithm introduces strategies such as adaptive weighting factors, local perturbation, and global beat variation, which can better balance the global optimization and local optimization search capabilities of the whale algorithm. The proposed algorithm was tested using the standard test case and compared with other algorithms in the literature. The results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the best-known solution for some instances.