Discrete symbiotic organisms search algorithm for travelling salesman problem

A Discrete Symbiotic Organisms Search (DSOS) algorithm for finding a near optimal solution for the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) is proposed. The SOS is a metaheuristic search optimization algorithm, inspired by the symbiotic interaction strategies often adopted by organisms in the ecosystem for survival and propagation. This new optimization algorithm has been proven to be very effective and robust in solving numerical optimization and engineering design problems. In this paper, the SOS is improved and extended by using three mutation-based local search operators to reconstruct its population, improve its exploration and exploitation capability, and accelerate the convergence speed. To prove that the proposed solution approach of the DSOS is a promising technique for solving combinatorial problems like the TSPs, a set of benchmarks of symmetric TSP instances selected from the TSPLIB library are used to evaluate its performance against other heuristic algorithms. Numerical results obtained show that the proposed optimization method can achieve results close to the theoretical best known solutions within a reasonable time frame.     

Design of planar concentric circular antenna arrays with reduced side lobe level using symbiotic organisms search

This paper investigates the design of concentric circular antenna arrays (CCAAs) with optimum side lobe level reduction using the Symbiotic Organisms Search (SOS) algorithm. Both thinned and full CCAAs are considered. SOS represents a rather new evolutionary algorithm for antenna array optimization. SOS is inspired by the symbiotic interaction strategies between different organisms in an ecosystem. SOS uses simple expressions to model the three common types of symbiotic relationships: mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. These expressions are used to find the global minimum of the fitness function. Unlike other methods, SOS is free of tuning parameters, which makes it an attractive optimization method. The results obtained using SOS are compared to those obtained using several optimization methods, like Biogeography-Based Optimization (BBO), Teaching-Learning-Based Optimization (TLBO), and Evolutionary Programming (EP). It is shown that the SOS is a robust straightforward evolutionary algorithm that competes with other known methods.

     

A hybrid OBL-based firefly algorithm with symbiotic organisms search algorithm for solving continuous optimization problems

The metaheuristic optimization algorithms are relatively new optimization algorithms introduced to solve optimization problems in recent years. For example, the firefly algorithm (FA) is one of the metaheuristic algorithms inspired by the fireflies' flashing behavior. However, its weakness in terms of exploration and early convergence has been pointed out. In this paper, two approaches were proposed to improve the FA. In the first proposed approach, a new improved opposition-based learning FA (IOFA) method was presented to accelerate the convergence and improve the FA's exploration capability. In the second proposed approach, a symbiotic organisms search (SOS) algorithm improved the exploration and exploitation of the first approach; two new parameters set these two goals, and the second approach was named IOFASOS. The purpose of the second method is that in the process of the SOS algorithm, the whole population is effective in the IOFA method to find solutions in the early stages of implementation, and with each iteration, fewer solutions are affected in the population. The experiments on 24 standard benchmark functions were conducted, and the first proposed approach showed a better performance in the small and medium dimensions and exhibited a relatively moderate performance in the higher dimensions. In contrast, the second proposed approach was better in increasing dimensions. In general, the empirical results showed that the two new approaches outperform other algorithms in most mathematical benchmarking functions. Thus, The IOFASOS model has more efficient solutions.

     

Symbiotic organisms search algorithm for dynamic economic dispatch with valve-point effects

Abstract

In this study, symbiotic organisms search (SOS) algorithm is proposed to solve the dynamic economic dispatch with valve-point effects problem, which is one of the most important problems of the modern power system. Some practical constraints like valve-point effects, ramp rate limits and prohibited operating zones have been considered as solutions. Proposed algorithm was tested on five different test cases in 5 units, 10 units and 13 units systems. The obtained results have been compared with other well-known metaheuristic methods reported before. Results show that proposed algorithm has a good convergence and produces better results than other methods.     

Symbiotic organisms search optimization algorithm for economic/emission dispatch problem in power systems

This paper presents symbiotic organisms search (SOS) algorithm to solve economic emission load dispatch (EELD) problem for thermal generators in power systems. The basic objective of the EELD is to minimize both minimum operating costs and emission levels, while satisfying the load demand and all equality–inequality constraints. In other research direction, this multi-objective problem is converted into single-objective function by using price penalty factor approach in order to solve it with SOS. The proposed algorithm has been implemented on various test cases, with different constraints and various cost curve nature. In order to see the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, its results are compared to those reported in the recent literature. The results of the algorithms indicate that SOS gives good results in both systems and very competitive with the state of the art for the solution of the EELD problems.

     

Bat Algorithm: A Survey of the State-of-the-Art

The area of metaheuristic optimization algorithms has been attracting researchers for many years. These algorithms have built in capability to explore a large region of the solution space, are computationally robust, efficient and can avoid premature convergence. They have been extensively tested and applied on many hard optimization problems where conventional computing techniques perform unsatisfactorily. They are capable of solving general N-dimensional, linear, nonlinear and complex global optimization problems. One of the latest entrants in this field is the Bat algorithm which is based on the echolocation behaviour of bats. It has been proven to have good convergence properties on different benchmark functions and seems promising for dealing with optimization problems. The aim of this paper is to provide a survey of the state of the art on Bat algorithm. A concise effort has been made so that the readers get a rapid insight into some of the applications upon which bat algorithm has been applied till date in specialized fields of science and engineering. Some of the variants of the bat algorithm as reported in the literature have also been discussed.     

A novel symbiotic organisms search algorithm for congestion management in deregulated environment

Abstract

In today’s competitive electricity market, managing transmission congestion in deregulated power system has created challenges for independent system operators to operate the transmission lines reliably within the limits. This paper proposes a new meta-heuristic algorithm, called as symbiotic organisms search (SOS) algorithm, for congestion management (CM) problem in pool based electricity market by real power rescheduling of generators. Inspired by interactions among organisms in ecosystem, SOS algorithm is a recent population based algorithm which does not require any algorithm specific control parameters unlike other algorithms. Various security constraints such as load bus voltage and line loading are taken into account while dealing with the CM problem. In this paper, the proposed SOS algorithm is applied on modified IEEE 30- and 57-bus test power system for the solution of CM problem. The results, thus, obtained are compared to those reported in the recent state-of-the-art literature. The efficacy of the proposed SOS algorithm for obtaining the higher quality solution is also established.     

First application of symbiotic organisms search algorithm to off-line optimization of PI parameters for DSP-based DC motor drives

To enhance the performance and dynamics of a direct current (DC) motor drive, this paper proposes a new alternative based on recently introduced powerful symbiotic organisms search (SOS) algorithm for tuning proportional integral parameters. While imitating the symbiotic behavior that is seen among organisms in an ecosystem, SOS has important features such that it does not require tuning parameters, and its implementation is very easy with efficient three phases. After obtaining the optimized values of K _p  − K _i pair within the accurately prepared simulation software, they are used in real time. By managing the DC motor speed-controlled system with DSP of TMS320F28335, several simulations and experimental results confirming the performance of our proposal are presented along with comparisons against those of particle swarm optimization (PSO), genetic algorithm (GA), and Ziegler–Nichols (Z–N) tuning method. Results explicitly show that SOS is the pioneer in yielding better tracking performance and load disturbance rejection capability of the concerned drive system, which is followed by PSO, GA, and Z–N method, respectively. This has been achieved due to the fact that the gains obtained by SOS are more performant than those obtained by other applied methods.

     

Human behavior-based optimization: a novel metaheuristic approach to solve complex optimization problems

Optimization techniques, specially evolutionary algorithms, have been widely used for solving various scientific and engineering optimization problems because of their flexibility and simplicity. In this paper, a novel metaheuristic optimization method, namely human behavior-based optimization (HBBO), is presented. Despite many of the optimization algorithms that use nature as the principal source of inspiration, HBBO uses the human behavior as the main source of inspiration. In this paper, first some human behaviors that are needed to understand the algorithm are discussed and after that it is shown that how it can be used for solving the practical optimization problems. HBBO is capable of solving many types of optimization problems such as high-dimensional multimodal functions, which have multiple local minima, and unimodal functions. In order to demonstrate the performance of HBBO, the proposed algorithm has been tested on a set of well-known benchmark functions and compared with other optimization algorithms. The results have been shown that this algorithm outperforms other optimization algorithms in terms of algorithm reliability, result accuracy and convergence speed.

     

Population-based optimization in structural engineering: a review

Structural engineering is focused on the safe and efficient design of infrastructure. Projects can range in size and complexity, many requiring massive amounts of materials and expensive construction and operational costs. Therefore, one of the primary objectives for structural engineers is a cost-effective design. Incorporating optimality criteria into the design procedure introduces additional complexities that result in problems that are nonlinear, nonconvex, and have a discontinuous solution space. Population-based optimization algorithms (known as metaheuristics) have been found to be very efficient approaches to these problems. Many researchers have developed and applied state-of-art metaheuristics to automate and optimize the design of real-world civil engineering problems. While there is a large body of published papers in this area, there are few comprehensive reviews that list, summarize, and categorize metaheuristic optimization in structural engineering. This paper provides an extensive survey of a wide range of metaheuristic techniques to structural engineering optimization problems. Also, information is provided on available structural engineering benchmark problems, the formulation of different objective functions, and the handling of various types of constraints. The performance of different optimization techniques is compared for many benchmark problems.

     

School-based optimization for performance-based optimum seismic design of steel frames

The performance-based optimum seismic design of steel frames is one of the most complicated and computationally demanding structural optimization problems. Metaheuristic optimization methods have been successfully used for solving engineering design problems over the last three decades. A very recently developed metaheuristic method called school-based optimization (SBO) will be utilized in the performance-based optimum seismic design of steel frames for the first time in this study. The SBO actually is an improved/enhanced version of teaching–learning-based optimization (TLBO), which mimics the teaching and learning process in a class where learners interact with the teacher and between themselves. Ad hoc strategies are adopted in order to minimize the computational cost of SBO results. The objective of the optimization problem is to minimize the weight of steel frames under interstory drift and strength constraints. Three steel frames previously designed by different metaheuristic methods including particle swarm optimization, improved quantum particle swarm optimization, firefly and modified firefly algorithms, teaching–learning-based optimization, and JAYA algorithm are used as benchmark optimization examples to verify the efficiency and robustness of the present SBO algorithm. Optimization results are compared with those of other state-of-the-art metaheuristic algorithms in terms of minimum structural weight, convergence speed, and several statistical parameters. Remarkably, in all test problems, SBO finds lighter designs with less computational effort than the TLBO and other methods available in metaheuristic optimization literature.

     

Andean Condor Algorithm for cell formation problems

This paper proposes a novel population based optimization algorithm called Andean Condor Algorithm (ACA) for solving cell formation problems. The ACA metaheuristic is inspired by the movement pattern of the Andean Condor when it searches for food. This pattern of movement corresponds to the flight distance traveled by the Andean Condor from its nest to the place where food is found. This distance varies depending on the seasons of the year. The ACA metaheuristic presents a balance of its population through a performance indicator based on the average quality of the population’s fitness. This balance determines the number of Andean Condors that will perform an exploration or intensification movements. ACA metaheuristics have a flexible design. It allows to easily integrate specific heuristics according to the optimization problem to be solved. Two types of computational experiments have been performed. According to the results obtained it has been possible to determine that ACA is an algorithm with an outstanding RPD% in relation to the algorithms BAT, MBO and PSO, robust and with a convergence which tends not to be trapped in the local optimums. Besides, according to the non-parametric multiple comparison, results have been obtained in which the ACA metaheuristic has significant differences in relation to the BAT, MBO and PSO algorithms.

     

The variants of the harmony search algorithm: an overview

The harmony search (HS) algorithm is a relatively new population-based metaheuristic optimization algorithm. It imitates the music improvisation process where musicians improvise their instruments’ pitch by searching for a perfect state of harmony. Since the emergence of this algorithm in 2001, it attracted many researchers from various fields especially those working on solving optimization problems. Consequently, this algorithm guided researchers to improve on its performance to be in line with the requirements of the applications being developed. These improvements primarily cover two aspects: (1) improvements in terms of parameters setting, and (2) improvements in terms of hybridizing HS components with other metaheuristic algorithms. This paper presents an overview of these aspects, with a goal of providing useful references to fundamental concepts accessible to the broad community of optimization practitioners.     

A comprehensive study of cuckoo-inspired algorithms

Nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithms are considered as the most effective techniques for solving various optimization problems. This paper provides a briefly review of the key features of the cuckoo-inspired metaheuristics: cuckoo search (CS) and cuckoo optimization algorithm (COA). In addition, it discusses some of their important and emerging studies, investigates their applications in several fields, and finally clarifies the differences between both algorithms so as to remove confusion between them.

     

基于改进共生生物搜索算法的林火图像多阈值分割

针对传统多阈值分割方法计算复杂度随着阈值个数的增加而增长,以及对给定图像进行多阈值分割操作时效率很低等问题,提出了一种基于共生生物搜索（SOS）算法结合Kapur熵的多阈值分割方法。首先将精英反策略（EOBL）引入到SOS算法的共栖阶段,从而改善传统SOS算法处理复杂优化问题时易陷入局部最优的问题;然后引入莱维飞行策略扩大SOS算法的的搜索范围,增强其搜索轨迹的随机性;最终将得到的改进共生生物搜索（MSOS）算法应用到林火图像最佳阈值的选取问题上。实验结果表明,与粒子群优化算法、和声搜索算法、蝙蝠算法等对比算法相比,所提算法能更好地分割图像,在实际工程问题中具有一定的实用性和价值。     

DG placement in radial distribution network by symbiotic organisms search algorithm for real power loss minimization

Incorporation of distributed generation (DG) in distribution network may reduce the network loss if DG of appropriate size is placed at proper strategic location. The current article presents determination of optimal size and location of DG in radial distribution network (RDN) for the reduction of network loss considering deterministic load demand and DG generation using symbiotic organisms search (SOS) algorithm. SOS algorithm is a meta-heuristic technique, inspired by the symbiotic relationship between different biological species. In this paper, optimal size and location of DG are obtained for two different RDNs (such as, 33-bus and 69-bus distribution networks). The obtained results, using the proposed SOS, are compared to the results offered by some other optimization algorithms like particle swarm optimization, teaching-learning based optimization, cuckoo search, artificial bee colony, gravitational search algorithm and stochastic fractal search. The comparison is done based on minimum loss of the distribution network as well as based on the convergence mobility of the fitness function offered by each of the comparative algorithms for both the networks under consideration. It is established that the proposed SOS algorithm offers better result as compared to other optimization algorithms under consideration. The results are also compared to the existing solution available in the literature.     

ESA: a hybrid bio-inspired metaheuristic optimization approach for engineering problems

In this paper, a hybrid bio-inspired metaheuristic optimization approach namely emperor penguin and salp swarm algorithm (ESA) is proposed. This algorithm imitates the huddling and swarm behaviors of emperor penguin optimizer and salp swarm algorithm, respectively. The efficiency of the proposed ESA is evaluated using scalability analysis, convergence analysis, sensitivity analysis, and ANOVA test analysis on 53 benchmark test functions including classical and IEEE CEC-2017. The effectiveness of ESA is compared with well-known metaheuristics in terms of the optimal solution. The proposed ESA is also applied on six constrained and one unconstrained engineering problems to evaluate its robustness. The results reveal that ESA offers optimal solutions as compared to the other competitor algorithms.

     

求解带容量约束车辆路径问题的混合变邻域生物共栖搜索算法

针对带容量约束的车辆路径问题,提出一种混合变邻域生物共栖搜索算法.设计基于客户点优先序列及车辆参考点模拟信息的有序编码,该编码方案使生物共栖搜索算法可以参与CVRP的离散优化;为了提高算法的全局搜索能力,根据有序编码特点构造3种共栖搜索算子,扩大搜索空间;同时,结合变邻域搜索算法设计客户点重置、交换和2-OPT三种局部搜索策略,以提高解方案质量.算例验证分析表明,所提算法能够有效地解决容量约束车辆路径问题,求解质量优于所对比算法,具有可靠的全局稳定性.     

An enhanced symbiosis organisms search algorithm: an empirical study

Many nature-inspired optimization algorithms have recently been proposed to solve difficult optimization problems where the mathematical gradient-based approaches could not be used. However, those approaches were often not tested on a proper set of problems. Moreover, statistical tests are sometimes not used to validate the conclusions. Therefore, empirical analyses of such approaches are needed. In this paper, a very recent nature-inspired approach, symbiosis organisms search (SOS), is investigated. A set of unbiased and characteristically different problems are used to study the performance of SOS. In addition, a comparison with some recent optimization methods is conducted. Then, the effect of SOS only parameter, eco_size, is studied, and the use of different random distributions is also explored. Finally, three simple SOS variants are proposed and compared to the original SOS. Conclusions are validated using nonparametric statistical tests.