Integration of Physical Simulations in Static Stability Assessments for Pallet Loading in Air Cargo

Abstract

In the air cargo context, pallet loading faces substantial constraints and item heterogeneity. The stability constraint in the pallet loading problem is highly important due to its impact on the efficiency, security, and resulting costs of an air cargo company. In information systems that support pallet loading, physical simulations provide a realistic approximation of a pallet’s stability. However, current approaches neglect the opportunity to integrate physical simulations in underlying solvers. In this research, we propose and compare two approaches for integrating a physical simulation as a fixed component of the problem-solving heuristic and include irregular shapes. Our results achieve runtimes that meet air cargo requirements; therefore, assumptions about the cargo, e.g., shape assumptions, can be relaxed.