Stabilized branch-and-price algorithms for vector packing problems

This paper considers packing and cutting problems in which a packing/cutting pattern is constrained independently in two or more dimensions. Examples are restrictions with respect to weight, length, and value. We present branch-and-price algorithms to solve these vector packing problems (VPPs) exactly. The underlying column-generation procedure uses an extended master program that is stabilized by (deep) dual-optimal inequalities. While some inequalities are added to the master program right from the beginning (static version), other violated dual-optimal inequalities are added dynamically. The column-generation subproblem is a multidimensional knapsack problem, either binary, bounded, or unbounded depending on the specific master problem formulation. Its fast resolution is decisive for the overall performance of the branch-and-price algorithm. In order to provide a generic but still efficient solution approach for the subproblem, we formulate it as a shortest path problem with resource constraints (SPPRC), yielding the following advantages: (i) Violated dual-optimal inequalities can be identified as a by-product of the SPPRC labeling approach and thus be added dynamically; (ii) branching decisions can be implemented into the subproblem without deteriorating its resolution process; and (iii) larger instances of higher-dimensional VPPs can be tackled with branch-and-price for the first time. Extensive computational results show that our branch-and-price algorithms are capable of solving VPP benchmark instances effectively.