A novel hybrid immune algorithm for global optimization in design and manufacturing

This paper presents a new hybrid optimization approach based on immune algorithm and hill climbing local search algorithm. The purpose of the present research is to develop a new optimization approach for solving design and manufacturing optimization problems. This research is the first application of immune algorithm to the optimization of machining parameters in the literature. In order to evaluate the proposed optimization approach, single objective test problem, multi-objective I-beam and machine-tool optimization problems taken from the literature are solved. Finally, the hybrid approach is applied to a case study for milling operations to show its effectiveness in machining operations. The results of the hybrid approach for the case study are compared with those of genetic algorithm, the feasible direction method and handbook recommendation.     

Hybrid Taguchi-differential evolution algorithm for optimization of multi-pass turning operations

Hybridizing of the optimization algorithms provides a scope to improve the searching abilities of the resulting method. The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel hybrid optimization algorithm entitled hybrid robust differential evolution (HRDE) by adding positive properties of the Taguchi's method to the differential evolution algorithm for minimizing the production cost associated with multi-pass turning problems. The proposed optimization approach is applied to two case studies for multi-pass turning operations to illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed algorithm in machining operations. The results reveal that the proposed hybrid algorithm is more effective than particle swarm optimization algorithm, immune algorithm, hybrid harmony search algorithm, hybrid genetic algorithm, scatter search algorithm, genetic algorithm and integration of simulated annealing and Hooke-Jeevespatter search.     

Comparison of evolutionary-based optimization algorithms for structural design optimization

In this paper, a comparison of evolutionary-based optimization techniques for structural design optimization problems is presented. Furthermore, a hybrid optimization technique based on differential evolution algorithm is introduced for structural design optimization problems. In order to evaluate the proposed optimization approach a welded beam design problem taken from the literature is solved. The proposed approach is applied to a welded beam design problem and the optimal design of a vehicle component to illustrate how the present approach can be applied for solving structural design optimization problems. A comparative study of six population-based optimization algorithms for optimal design of the structures is presented. The volume reduction of the vehicle component is 28.4% using the proposed hybrid approach. The results show that the proposed approach gives better solutions compared to genetic algorithm, particle swarm, immune algorithm, artificial bee colony algorithm and differential evolution algorithm that are representative of the state-of-the-art in the evolutionary optimization literature.     

A new hybrid artificial bee colony algorithm for robust optimal design and manufacturing

The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel hybrid optimization method (HRABC) based on artificial bee colony algorithm and Taguchi method. The proposed approach is applied to a structural design optimization of a vehicle component and a multi-tool milling optimization problem.A comparison of state-of-the-art optimization techniques for the design and manufacturing optimization problems is presented. The results have demonstrated the superiority of the HRABC over the other techniques like differential evolution algorithm, harmony search algorithm, particle swarm optimization algorithm, artificial immune algorithm, ant colony algorithm, hybrid robust genetic algorithm, scatter search algorithm, genetic algorithm in terms of convergence speed and efficiency by measuring the number of function evaluations required.     

A NEW HYBRID ALGORITHM FOR MULTI-OBJECTIVE DISTRIBUTION FEEDER RECONFIGURATION

This article proposes an efficient hybrid algorithm for multi-objective distribution feeder reconfiguration. The hybrid algorithm is based on the combination of discrete particle swarm optimization (DPSO), ant colony optimization (ACO), and fuzzy multi-objective approach called DPSO-ACO-F. The objective functions are to reduce real power losses, deviation of nodes voltage, the number of switching operations, and the balancing of the loads on the feeders. Since the objectives are not the same, it is not easy to solve the problem by traditional approaches that optimize a single objective. In the proposed algorithm, the objective functions are first modeled with fuzzy sets to calculate their imprecise nature and then the hybrid evolutionary algorithm is applied to determine the optimal solution. The feasibility of the proposed optimization algorithm is demonstrated and compared with the solutions obtained by other approaches over different distribution test systems.     

A hybrid cuckoo search-genetic algorithm for hole-making sequence optimization

Biologically-inspired algorithms are stochastic search methods that emulate the behavior of natural biological evolution to produce better solutions and have been widely used to solve engineering optimization problems. In this paper, a new hybrid algorithm is proposed based on the breeding behavior of cuckoos and evolutionary strategies of genetic algorithm by combining the advantages of genetic algorithm into the cuckoo search algorithm. The proposed hybrid cuckoo search-genetic algorithm (CSGA) is used for the optimization of hole-making operations in which a hole may require various tools to machine its final size. The main objective considered here is to minimize the total non-cutting time of the machining process, including the tool positioning time and the tool switching time. The performance of CSGA is verified through solving a set of benchmark problems taken from the literature. The amount of improvement obtained for different problem sizes are reported and compared with those by ant colony optimization, particle swarm optimization, immune based algorithm and cuckoo search algorithm. The results of the tests show that CSGA is superior to the compared algorithms.     

基于混合离散免疫算法的轧制计划编排

为了保证轧制调度计划的可行性,提高排程的效率,根据热轧生产模式和轧制计划的特点,利用车辆路径问题模型来建模轧制调度问题,并用一种基于离散人工免疫算法的混合优化算法来解决这一问题。该方法利用离散人工免疫算法的全局搜索能力来寻找全局最优解,利用模拟退火方法来避免陷入局部最优．对某钢厂实际生产数据仿真结果表明,所提出的模型和算法对于求解热轧调度问题具有可行性和高效性。     

Immunity-based hybrid evolutionary algorithm for multi-objective optimization in global container repositioning

The development of evolutionary algorithms for optimization has always been a stimulating and growing research area with an increasing demand in using them to solve complex industrial optimization problems. A novel immunity-based hybrid evolutionary algorithm known as Hybrid Artificial Immune Systems (HAIS) for solving both unconstrained and constrained multi-objective optimization problems is developed in this research. The algorithm adopts the clonal selection and immune suppression theories, with a sorting scheme featuring uniform crossover, multi-point mutation, non-dominance and crowding distance sorting to attain the Pareto optimal front in an efficient manner. The proposed algorithm was verified with nine benchmarking functions on its global optimal search ability as well as compared with four optimization algorithms to assess its diversity and spread. Sensitivity analysis was also carried out to investigate the selection of key parameters of the algorithm. It is found that the developed immunity-based hybrid evolutionary algorithm provides a useful means for solving optimization problems and has successfully applied to the problem of global repositioning of containers, which is one of a constrained multi-objective optimization problem. The developed HAIS will assist shipping liners on timely decision making and planning of container repositioning operations in global container transportation business in an optimized and cost effective manner.     

A hybrid particle swarm optimization algorithm for the vehicle routing problem

This paper introduces a new hybrid algorithmic nature inspired approach based on particle swarm optimization, for successfully solving one of the most popular supply chain management problems, the vehicle routing problem. The vehicle routing problem is considered one of the most well studied problems in operations research. The proposed algorithm for the solution of the vehicle routing problem, the hybrid particle swarm optimization (HybPSO), combines a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, the multiple phase neighborhood search–greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (MPNS–GRASP) algorithm, the expanding neighborhood search (ENS) strategy and a path relinking (PR) strategy. The algorithm is suitable for solving very large-scale vehicle routing problems as well as other, more difficult combinatorial optimization problems, within short computational time. It is tested on a set of benchmark instances and produced very satisfactory results. The algorithm is ranked in the fifth place among the 39 most known and effective algorithms in the literature and in the first place among all nature inspired methods that have ever been used for this set of instances.     

Fast convergence optimization model for single and multi-purposes reservoirs using hybrid algorithm

Developing optimal operation policy for single or multi-purposes dams and reservoirs is a complex engineering application. The main reasons for such complexity are the stochastic nature of the system input and slow convergence of the optimization method. Furthermore, searching optimal operation for multi-purposes or chain reservoir systems, becomes even more complex because of interfering operations between successive dams. In this study, a new hybrid algorithm has been introduced by merging the genetic algorithm (GA) with the krill algorithm. In fact, the proposed hybrid algorithm amalgamates the advantages of both algorithms, first, the ability to converge fast for global optimum and, second, considering the effect of stochastic nature of the system. Three benchmark functions were used to evaluate the performance of this proposed optimization model. In addition, the proposed hybrid algorithm was examined for Karun-4 reservoir in Iran as an example for a hydro-power generation dam. Two benchmark problems of hydropower operations for multi-purposes reservoir systems, namely four-reservoir and ten-reservoir systems were considered in the study. Results showed that the proposed hybrid algorithm outperformed the well-developed traditional nonlinear programming solvers, such as Lingo 8 software.     

Max-plus-linear model-based predictive control for constrained hybrid systems: linear programming solution

In this paper, a linear programming method is proposed to solve model predictive control for a class of hybrid systems. Firstly, using the (max, +) algebra, a typical subclass of hybrid systems called max-plus-linear (MPL) systems is obtained. And then, model predictive control (MPC) framework is extended to MPL systems. In general, the nonlinear optimization approach or extended linear complementarity problem (ELCP) were applied to solve the MPL-MPC optimization problem. A new optimization method based on canonical forms for max-min-plus-scaling (MMPS) functions (using the operations maximization, minimization, addition and scalar multiplication) with linear constraints on the inputs is presented. The proposed approach consists in solving several linear programming problems and is more efficient than nonlinear optimization. The validity of the algorithm is illustrated by an example.     

Max-plus-linear model-based predictive control for constrained hybrid systems：linear programming solution

In this paper, a linear programming method is proposed to solve model predictive control for a class of hybrid systems. Firstly, using the （max, ＋） algebra, a typical subclass of hybrid systems called max-plus-linear （MPL） systems is obtained. And then, model predictive control （MPC） framework is extended to MPL systems. In general, the nonlinear optimization approach or extended linear complementarity problem （ELCP） were applied to solve the MPL-MPC optimization problem. A new optimization method based on canonical forms for max-min-plus-scaling （MMPS） functions （using the operations maximization, minimization, addition and scalar multiplication） with linear constraints on the inputs is presented. The proposed approach consists in solving several linear programming problems and is more efficient than nonlinear optimization. The validity of the algorithm is illustrated by an example.     

基于免疫算法和EDA 的混合多目标优化算法

在免疫多目标优化算法的基础上,引入了分布估计算法(EDA)对进化种群进行建模采样的思想,提出了一种求解复杂多目标优化问题的混合优化算法HIAEDA(hybrid immune algorithm with EDA for multi-objectiveoptimization).HIAEDA 的进化过程混合了两种后代产生策略:一种是基于交叉变异的克隆选择算子,用于在父代种群周围进行局部搜索的同时开辟新的搜索区域;另一种是基于EDA 的模型采样算子,用于学习多目标优化问题决策变量之间的相关性,提高算法求解复杂多目标优化问题的能力.在分析两种算子搜索行为的基础上,讨论了两者在功能上的互补性,并利用有限马尔可夫链的性质证明了HIAEDA 算法的收敛性.对测试函数和实际工程问题的仿真实验结果表明,HIAEDA 与NSGAII 算法和基于EDA 的进化多目标优化算法RM-MEDA 相比,在收敛性和多样性方面均表现出明显优势,尤其是对于决策变量之间存在非线性关联的复杂多目标优化问题,优势更为突出.     

Predicting time series of railway speed restrictions with time-dependent machine learning techniques

In this paper, a hybrid approach to combine conditional restricted Boltzmann machines (CRBM) and echo state networks (ESN) for binary time series prediction is proposed. Both methods have demonstrated their ability to extract complex dynamic patterns from time-dependent data in several applications and benchmark studies. To the authors’ knowledge, it is the first time that the proposed combination of algorithms is applied for reliability prediction.The proposed approach is verified on a case study predicting the occurrence of railway operation disruptions based on discrete-event data, which is represented by a binary time series. The case study concerns speed restrictions affecting railway operations, caused by failures of tilting systems of railway vehicles. The overall prediction accuracy of the algorithm is 99.93%; the prediction accuracy for occurrence of speed restrictions within the foresight period is 98% (which corresponds to the sensitivity of the algorithm). The prediction results of the case study are compared to the prediction with a MLP trained with a Newton conjugate gradient algorithm. The proposed approach proves to be superior to MLP.     

A hybrid approach to large-scale job shop scheduling

A decomposition based hybrid optimization algorithm is presented for large-scale job shop scheduling problems in which the total weighted tardiness must be minimized. In each iteration, a new subproblem is first defined by a simulated annealing approach and then solved using a genetic algorithm. We construct a fuzzy inference system to calculate the jobs’ bottleneck characteristic values which depict the characteristic information in different optimization stages. This information is then utilized to guide the process of subproblem-solving in an immune mechanism in order to promote the optimization efficiency. Numerical computational results show that the proposed algorithm is effective for solving large-scale scheduling problems.     

Hybrid modelling for real-time prediction of the sulphur content during ladle furnace steel refining with embedding prior knowledge

Real-time prediction of the sulphur content of steel is of great importance for operation guidance during ladle furnace (LF) steel refining. For seeking an accurate prediction, this paper proposes to establish sulphur content prediction model in a hybrid way, where a simplified first principle model is introduced and fine tuned by data-driven modelling methods. The derived hybrid model employs optimization approach to optimize its data representation part, while prior knowledge is embedded in the form of linear constraints. An innovation of the proposed methodology is the full exploitation of prior knowledge about the process for determining reasonable process parameters. Moreover, a novel optimization approach is developed for ensuring accuracy and improving solution efficiency by the integration of genetic algorithm and successive approximation method. The proposed hybrid model possesses flexible interpretable structure and adaptive learning ability. As a result, it ensures the extrapolation property for real-time prediction and is able to provide an in-depth understanding of practical desulphurization process, making it very suitable for process monitoring and operations optimization during LF steel refining. Finally, this hybrid model is validated on recorded data from an industrial LF plant.     

A hybrid immune simulated annealing algorithm for the job shop scheduling problem

A hybrid simulated annealing algorithm based on a novel immune mechanism is proposed for the job shop scheduling problem with the objective of minimizing total weighted tardiness. The proposed immune procedure is built on the following fundamental idea: the bottleneck jobs existing in each scheduling instance generally constitute the key factors in the attempt to improve the quality of final schedules, and thus, the sequencing of these jobs needs more intensive optimization. To quantitatively describe the bottleneck job distribution, we design a fuzzy inference system for evaluating the bottleneck level (i.e. the criticality) of each job. By combining the immune procedure with a simulated annealing algorithm, we design a hybrid optimization algorithm which is subsequently tested on a number of job shop instances. Computational results for different-sized instances show that the proposed hybrid algorithm performs effectively and converges fast to satisfactory solutions.     

一种改进的药代动力学参数优化方法及其应用

基于药代动力学参数优化方法PKAIN人工免疫网络算法,提出了迭代分组并发单纯形算子,并实现了线性网络抑制函数以简化人工免疫网络的参数设置。为了加快算法的搜索速度和搜索精度,提出了新型的人工免疫网络单纯形混合算法（PKAIN_spx）,用人工免疫网络实现粗粒度全局搜索,随后用单纯形进行精确搜索。仿真实验对改进的PKAIN算法（PKAIN_in）、人工免疫网络单纯形混合算法（PKAIN_spx）以及PKAIN算法进行了比较分析,结果表明PKAIN_spx算法在药代动力学参数优化中取得良好的实验效果。     

免疫遗传蚁群融合算法

提出了一种融合蚁群系统、免疫算法和遗传算法的混合算法。将免疫算法和遗传算法引入到每次蚁群迭代的过程中,利用免疫算法的局部优化能力和遗传算法的全局搜索能力,来提高蚁群系统的收敛速度。该算法通过遗传算法的选择、交叉、变异操作和免疫算法的自适应疫苗接种操作,有效地解决了蚁群系统的易陷入局部最优和易退化的缺点。通过对旅行商问题的仿真实验表明该算法具有非常好的收敛速度和全局最优解的搜索能力。     

Mathematical modeling and a hybridized bacterial foraging optimization algorithm for the flexible job-shop scheduling problem with sequencing flexibility

The flexible job-shop scheduling problem (FJSP) is an extension of the classical job-shop scheduling problem (JSP) in which operations can be performed by a set of candidate capable machines. An extended version of the FJSP, entitled sequencing flexibility, is studied in this work, which considers precedence between the operations in the form of a directed acyclic graph instead of a sequential order. In this work, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation is presented to minimize weighted tardiness for the FJSP with sequencing flexibility. Due to the NP-hardness of the problem, a novel biomimicry hybrid bacterial foraging optimization algorithm (HBFOA) is developed, which is inspired by the behavior of E. coli bacteria in its search for food. The developed HBFOA search method is hybridized with simulated annealing (SA). Additionally, the algorithm has been enhanced by a local search method based on the manipulation of critical operations. Classical dispatching rules have been employed to create the initial swarm of HBFOA, and a new dispatching rule named minimum number of operations has been devised. The developed approach has been packaged in the form of a decision support system (DSS) developed on top of Microsoft Excel—a tool most small and mid-range enterprises (SME) use heavily for planning. A case study with local industry is presented to validate the proposed HBFOA and MILP. Additional numerical experiments using literature benchmarks are further used for validation. The results demonstrate that the HBFOA outperformed the classical dispatching rules and the best integer solution of MILP when minimizing the weighted tardiness and offered comparable results for the makespan instances.