Dense Packings of Congruent Circles in Rectangles with a Variable Aspect Ratio

We use computational experiments to find the rectangles of minimum perimeter into which a given number n of non-overlapping congruent circles can be packed. No assumption is made on the shape of the rectangles. In many of the packings found, the circles form the usual regular square-grid or hexagonal patterns or their hybrids. However, for most values of n in the tested range n =< 5000, e.g., for n = 7, 13, 17, 21, 22, 26, 31, 37, 38, 41, 43...,4997, 4998, 4999, 5000, we prov...

We study the packing of a large number of congruent and non--overlapping circles inside a regular polygon. We have devised efficient algorithms that allow one to generate configurations of $N$ densely packed circles inside a regular polygon and we have carried out intensive numerical experiments spanning several polygons (the largest number of sides considered here being $16$) and up to $200$ circles ($400$ circles in the special cases of the equilateral triangle and the regu...

We describe a new numerical procedure for generating dense packings of disks and spheres inside various geometric shapes. We believe that in some of the smaller cases, these packings are in fact optimal. When applied to the previously studied cases of packing n equal disks in a square, the procedure confirms all the previous record packings except for n = 32, 37, 48, and 50 disks, where better packings than those previously recorded are found. For n = 32 and 48, the new packi...

We study dense packings of a large number of congruent non-overlapping circles inside a square by looking for configurations which maximize the packing density, defined as the ratio between the area occupied by the disks and the area of the square container. The search for these configurations is carried out with the help of two algorithms that we have devised: a first algorithm is in charge of obtaining sufficiently dense configurations starting from a random guess, while a ...

We examine sequences of dense packings of n congruent non-overlapping disks inside a square which follow specific patterns as n increases along certain values, n = n(1), n(2),... n(k),.... Extending and improving previous work of Nurmela and Ostergard where previous patterns for n = n(k) of the form k*k, k*k-1, k*k-3, k(k+1), and 4k*k+k were observed, we identify new patterns for n = k*k-2 and n = k*k+[k/2]. We also find denser packings than those in [Nurmela, Ostergard] for ...

This paper encompasses the mathematical derivations of the analytic and generalized formula and recurrence relations to find out the radii of n umber of circles inscribed or packed in the plane region bounded by circular arcs (including sectors, semi and quarter circles) & the straight lines. The values of radii obtained using analytic formula and recurrence relations have been verified by comparing with those obtained using MATLAB codes. The methods used in this paper for pa...

We consider packings of congruent circles on a square flat torus, i.e., periodic (w.r.t. a square lattice) planar circle packings, with the maximal circle radius. This problem is interesting due to a practical reason - the problem of "super resolution of images." We have found optimal arrangements for N=6, 7 and 8 circles. Surprisingly, for the case N=7 there are three different optimal arrangements. Our proof is based on a computer enumeration of toroidal irreducible contact...

In this note we give a simple proof of the classical fact that the hexagonal lattice gives the highest density circle packing among all lattices in $R^2$. With the benefit of hindsight, we show that the problem can be restricted to the important class of well-rounded lattices, on which the density function takes a particularly simple form. Our proof emphasizes the role of well-rounded lattices for discrete optimization problems.

This article is a gentle introduction to the mathematical area known as circle packing, the study of the kinds of patterns that can be formed by configurations of non-overlapping circles. The first half of the article is an exposition of the two most important facts about circle packings, (1) that essentially whatever pattern (i.e. combinatorics) we ask for, we may always arrange circles in that pattern, and (2) that under simple conditions on the pattern, there is an essenti...

For each k >= 1 and corresponding hexagonal number h(k) = 3k(k+1)+1, we introduce m(k) = max[(k-1)!/ 2, 1] packings of h(k) equal disks inside a circle which we call "the curved hexagonal packings". The curved hexagonal packing of 7 disks (k = 1, m(1)=1) is well known and the one of 19 disks (k = 2, m(2)=1) has been previously conjectured to be optimal. New curved hexagonal packings of 37, 61, and 91 disks (k = 3, 4, and 5, m(3)=1, m(4)=3, and m(5)=12) were the densest we obt...