Truck and Trailer Routing Problem Solving by a Backtracking Search Algorithm

Abstract

Truck and trailer routing problem (TTRP) is one of the most frequently encountered problem in city distribution, particularly in populated and intensive downtown. This paper addresses this problem and designs a novel backtracking search algorithm (BSA) based meta-heuristics to solve it. The initial population is created by T-sweep heuristic and then based on the framework of backtracking search algorithm, four types of route improvement strategies are used as building blocks to improve the solutions of BSA in the process of mutation and crossover. The computational experiments and results indicate that the proposed BSA algorithm can provide an effective approach to generate high-quality solutions within the satisfactory computational time.