Multi-Objective Optimization of Multi-Product Parallel Disassembly Line Balancing Problem Considering Multi-Skilled Workers Using a Discrete Chemical Reaction Optimization Algorithm

This work investigates a multi-product parallel disassembly line balancing problem considering multi-skilled workers.A mathematical model for the parallel disassembly line is established to achieve maximized disassembly profit and minimized workstation cycle time.Based on a product’s AND/OR graph,matrices for task-skill,worker-skill,precedence relationships,and disassembly correlations are developed.A multi-objective discrete chemical reaction optimization algorithm is designed.To enhance solution diversity,improvements are made to four reactions:decomposition,synthesis,intermolecular ineffective collision,and wall invalid collision reaction,completing the evolution of molecular individuals.The established model and improved algorithm are applied to ball pen,flashlight,washing machine,and radio combinations,respectively.Introducing a Collaborative Resource Allocation(CRA)strategy based on a Decomposition-Based Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm,the experimental results are compared with four classical algorithms:MOEA/D,MOEAD-CRA,Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm Ⅱ(NSGA-Ⅱ),and Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm Ⅲ(NSGA-Ⅲ).This validates the feasibility and superiority of the proposed algorithm in parallel disassembly production lines.

A Comparative Study of Metaheuristic Optimization Algorithms for Solving Real-World Engineering Design Problems

Real-world engineering design problems with complex objective functions under some constraints are relatively difficult problems to solve.Such design problems are widely experienced in many engineering fields,such as industry,automotive,construction,machinery,and interdisciplinary research.However,there are established optimization techniques that have shown effectiveness in addressing these types of issues.This research paper gives a comparative study of the implementation of seventeen new metaheuristic methods in order to optimize twelve distinct engineering design issues.The algorithms used in the study are listed as:transient search optimization(TSO),equilibrium optimizer(EO),grey wolf optimizer(GWO),moth-flame optimization(MFO),whale optimization algorithm(WOA),slimemould algorithm(SMA),harris hawks optimization(HHO),chimp optimization algorithm(COA),coot optimization algorithm(COOT),multi-verse optimization(MVO),arithmetic optimization algorithm(AOA),aquila optimizer(AO),sine cosine algorithm(SCA),smell agent optimization(SAO),and seagull optimization algorithm(SOA),pelican optimization algorithm(POA),and coati optimization algorithm(CA).As far as we know,there is no comparative analysis of recent and popular methods against the concrete conditions of real-world engineering problems.Hence,a remarkable research guideline is presented in the study for researchersworking in the fields of engineering and artificial intelligence,especiallywhen applying the optimization methods that have emerged recently.Future research can rely on this work for a literature search on comparisons of metaheuristic optimization methods in real-world problems under similar conditions.

Enhancing Evolutionary Algorithms With Pattern Mining for Sparse Large-Scale Multi-Objective Optimization Problems

Sparse large-scale multi-objective optimization problems(SLMOPs)are common in science and engineering.However,the large-scale problem represents the high dimensionality of the decision space,requiring algorithms to traverse vast expanse with limited computational resources.Furthermore,in the context of sparse,most variables in Pareto optimal solutions are zero,making it difficult for algorithms to identify non-zero variables efficiently.This paper is dedicated to addressing the challenges posed by SLMOPs.To start,we introduce innovative objective functions customized to mine maximum and minimum candidate sets.This substantial enhancement dramatically improves the efficacy of frequent pattern mining.In this way,selecting candidate sets is no longer based on the quantity of nonzero variables they contain but on a higher proportion of nonzero variables within specific dimensions.Additionally,we unveil a novel approach to association rule mining,which delves into the intricate relationships between non-zero variables.This novel methodology aids in identifying sparse distributions that can potentially expedite reductions in the objective function value.We extensively tested our algorithm across eight benchmark problems and four real-world SLMOPs.The results demonstrate that our approach achieves competitive solutions across various challenges.

Enhanced Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm Guided by a Local Search for the Feature Selection Problem

High-dimensional datasets present significant challenges for classification tasks.Dimensionality reduction,a crucial aspect of data preprocessing,has gained substantial attention due to its ability to improve classification per-formance.However,identifying the optimal features within high-dimensional datasets remains a computationally demanding task,necessitating the use of efficient algorithms.This paper introduces the Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm(AOA),a novel approach for finding the optimal feature subset.AOA is specifically modified to address feature selection problems based on a transfer function.Additionally,two enhancements are incorporated into the AOA algorithm to overcome limitations such as limited precision,slow convergence,and susceptibility to local optima.The first enhancement proposes a new method for selecting solutions to be improved during the search process.This method effectively improves the original algorithm’s accuracy and convergence speed.The second enhancement introduces a local search with neighborhood strategies(AOA_NBH)during the AOA exploitation phase.AOA_NBH explores the vast search space,aiding the algorithm in escaping local optima.Our results demonstrate that incorporating neighborhood methods enhances the output and achieves significant improvement over state-of-the-art methods.

Parallel discrete lion swarm optimization algorithm for solving traveling salesman problem

As a typical representative of the NP-complete problem, the traveling salesman problem(TSP) is widely utilized in computer networks, logistics distribution, and other fields. In this paper, a discrete lion swarm optimization(DLSO) algorithm is proposed to solve the TSP. Firstly, we introduce discrete coding and order crossover operators in DLSO. Secondly, we use the complete 2-opt(C2-opt) algorithm to enhance the local search ability.Then in order to enhance the efficiency of the algorithm, a parallel discrete lion swarm optimization(PDLSO) algorithm is proposed.The PDLSO has multiple populations, and each sub-population independently runs the DLSO algorithm in parallel. We use the ring topology to transfer information between sub-populations. Experiments on some benchmarks TSP problems show that the DLSO algorithm has a better accuracy than other algorithms, and the PDLSO algorithm can effectively shorten the running time.

Improved genetic algorithm for nonlinear programming problems

An improved genetic algorithm（IGA） based on a novel selection strategy to handle nonlinear programming problems is proposed.Each individual in selection process is represented as a three-dimensional feature vector which is composed of objective function value,the degree of constraints violations and the number of constraints violations.It is easy to distinguish excellent individuals from general individuals by using an individuals＇ feature vector.Additionally,a local search（LS） process is incorporated into selection operation so as to find feasible solutions located in the neighboring areas of some infeasible solutions.The combination of IGA and LS should offer the advantage of both the quality of solutions and diversity of solutions.Experimental results over a set of benchmark problems demonstrate that IGA has better performance than other algorithms.

Solution for integer linear bilevel programming problems using orthogonal genetic algorithm

An integer linear bilevel programming problem is firstly transformed into a binary linear bilevel programming problem, and then converted into a single-level binary implicit programming. An orthogonal genetic algorithm is developed for solving the binary linear implicit programming problem based on the orthogonal design. The orthogonal design with the factor analysis, an experimental design method is applied to the genetic algorithm to make the algorithm more robust, statistical y sound and quickly convergent. A crossover operator formed by the orthogonal array and the factor analysis is presented. First, this crossover operator can generate a smal but representative sample of points as offspring. After al of the better genes of these offspring are selected, a best combination among these offspring is then generated. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Convergence analysis of a nonlinear Lagrange algorithm for general nonlinear constrained optimization problems

The convergence analysis of a nonlinear Lagrange algorithm for solving nonlinear constrained optimization problems with both inequality and equality constraints is explored in detail. The estimates for the derivatives of the multiplier mapping and the solution mapping of the proposed algorithm are discussed via the technique of the singular value decomposition of matrix. Based on the estimates, the local convergence results and the rate of convergence of the algorithm are presented when the penalty parameter is less than a threshold under a set of suitable conditions on problem functions. Furthermore, the condition number of the Hessian of the nonlinear Lagrange function with respect to the decision variables is analyzed, which is closely related to efficiency of the algorithm. Finally, the preliminary numericM results for several typical test problems are reported.

Annealing Harmony Search Algorithm to Solve the Nurse Rostering Problem

A real-life problem is the rostering of nurses at hospitals.It is a famous nondeterministic,polynomial time(NP)-hard combinatorial optimization problem.Handling the real-world nurse rostering problem(NRP)constraints in distributing workload equally between available nurses is still a difficult task to achieve.The international shortage of nurses,in addition to the spread of COVID-19,has made it more difficult to provide convenient rosters for nurses.Based on the literature,heuristic-based methods are the most commonly used methods to solve the NRP due to its computational complexity,especially for large rosters.Heuristic-based algorithms in general have problems striking the balance between diversification and intensification.Therefore,this paper aims to introduce a novel metaheuristic hybridization that combines the enhanced harmony search algorithm(EHSA)with the simulated annealing(SA)algorithm called the annealing harmony search algorithm(AHSA).The AHSA is used to solve NRP from a Malaysian hospital.The AHSA performance is compared to the EHSA,climbing harmony search algorithm(CHSA),deluge harmony search algorithm(DHSA),and harmony annealing search algorithm(HAS).The results show that the AHSA performs better than the other compared algorithms for all the tested instances where the best ever results reported for the UKMMC dataset.

An Algorithm for the Inverse Problem of Matrix Processing: DNA Chains, Their Distance Matrices and Reconstructing

We continue to consider one of the cybernetic methods in biology related to the study of DNA chains. Exactly, we are considering the problem of reconstructing the distance matrix for DNA chains. Such a matrix is formed on the basis of any of the possible algorithms for determining the distances between DNA chains, as well as any specific object of study. At the same time, for example, the practical programming results show that on an average modern computer, it takes about a day to build such a 30 × 30 matrix for mnDNAs using the Needleman-Wunsch algorithm;therefore, for such a 300 × 300 matrix, about 3 months of continuous computer operation is expected. Thus, even for a relatively small number of species, calculating the distance matrix on conventional computers is hardly feasible and the supercomputers are usually not available. Therefore, we started publishing our variants of the algorithms for calculating the distance between two DNA chains, then we publish algorithms for restoring partially filled matrices, i.e., the inverse problem of matrix processing. Previously, we used the method of branches and boundaries, but in this paper we propose to use another new algorithm for restoring the distance matrix for DNA chains. Our recent work has shown that even greater improvement in the quality of the algorithm can often be achieved without improving the auxiliary heuristics of the branches and boundaries method. Thus, we are improving the algorithms that formulate the greedy function of this method only. .

Improved ant colony optimization algorithm for the traveling salesman problems

Ant colony optimization （ACO） is a new heuristic algo- rithm which has been proven a successful technique and applied to a number of combinatorial optimization problems. The traveling salesman problem （TSP） is among the most important combinato- rial problems. An ACO algorithm based on scout characteristic is proposed for solving the stagnation behavior and premature con- vergence problem of the basic ACO algorithm on TSP. The main idea is to partition artificial ants into two groups： scout ants and common ants. The common ants work according to the search manner of basic ant colony algorithm, but scout ants have some differences from common ants, they calculate each route＇s muta- tion probability of the current optimal solution using path evaluation model and search around the optimal solution according to the mutation probability. Simulation on TSP shows that the improved algorithm has high efficiency and robustness.

A Memetic Algorithm With Competition for the Capacitated Green Vehicle Routing Problem

In this paper, a memetic algorithm with competition(MAC) is proposed to solve the capacitated green vehicle routing problem(CGVRP). Firstly, the permutation array called traveling salesman problem(TSP) route is used to encode the solution, and an effective decoding method to construct the CGVRP route is presented accordingly. Secondly, the k-nearest neighbor(k NN) based initialization is presented to take use of the location information of the customers. Thirdly, according to the characteristics of the CGVRP, the search operators in the variable neighborhood search(VNS) framework and the simulated annealing(SA) strategy are executed on the TSP route for all solutions. Moreover, the customer adjustment operator and the alternative fuel station(AFS) adjustment operator on the CGVRP route are executed for the elite solutions after competition. In addition, the crossover operator is employed to share information among different solutions. The effect of parameter setting is investigated using the Taguchi method of design-ofexperiment to suggest suitable values. Via numerical tests, it demonstrates the effectiveness of both the competitive search and the decoding method. Moreover, extensive comparative results show that the proposed algorithm is more effective and efficient than the existing methods in solving the CGVRP.

A Survey of Evolutionary Algorithms for Multi-Objective Optimization Problems With Irregular Pareto Fronts

Evolutionary algorithms have been shown to be very successful in solving multi-objective optimization problems(MOPs).However,their performance often deteriorates when solving MOPs with irregular Pareto fronts.To remedy this issue,a large body of research has been performed in recent years and many new algorithms have been proposed.This paper provides a comprehensive survey of the research on MOPs with irregular Pareto fronts.We start with a brief introduction to the basic concepts,followed by a summary of the benchmark test problems with irregular problems,an analysis of the causes of the irregularity,and real-world optimization problems with irregular Pareto fronts.Then,a taxonomy of the existing methodologies for handling irregular problems is given and representative algorithms are reviewed with a discussion of their strengths and weaknesses.Finally,open challenges are pointed out and a few promising future directions are suggested.

Solving material distribution routing problem in mixed manufacturing systems with a hybrid multi-objective evolutionary algorithm

The material distribution routing problem in the manufacturing system is a complex combinatorial optimization problem and its main task is to deliver materials to the working stations with low cost and high efficiency. A multi-objective model was presented for the material distribution routing problem in mixed manufacturing systems, and it was solved by a hybrid multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (HMOEA). The characteristics of the HMOEA are as follows: 1) A route pool is employed to preserve the best routes for the population initiation; 2) A specialized best?worst route crossover (BWRC) mode is designed to perform the crossover operators for selecting the best route from Chromosomes 1 to exchange with the worst one in Chromosomes 2, so that the better genes are inherited to the offspring; 3) A route swap mode is used to perform the mutation for improving the convergence speed and preserving the better gene; 4) Local heuristics search methods are applied in this algorithm. Computational study of a practical case shows that the proposed algorithm can decrease the total travel distance by 51.66%, enhance the average vehicle load rate by 37.85%, cut down 15 routes and reduce a deliver vehicle. The convergence speed of HMOEA is faster than that of famous NSGA-II.

Orthogonal genetic algorithm for solving quadratic bilevel programming problems

A quadratic bilevel programming problem is transformed into a single level complementarity slackness problem by applying Karush-Kuhn-Tucker（KKT） conditions.To cope with the complementarity constraints,a binary encoding scheme is adopted for KKT multipliers,and then the complementarity slackness problem is simplified to successive quadratic programming problems,which can be solved by many algorithms available.Based on 0-1 binary encoding,an orthogonal genetic algorithm,in which the orthogonal experimental design with both two-level orthogonal array and factor analysis is used as crossover operator,is proposed.Numerical experiments on 10 benchmark examples show that the orthogonal genetic algorithm can find global optimal solutions of quadratic bilevel programming problems with high accuracy in a small number of iterations.

GLOBAL OPTIMIZATION OF PUMP CONFIGURATION PROBLEM USING EXTENDED CROWDING GENETIC ALGORITHM

An extended crowding genetic algorithm (ECGA) is introduced for solvingoptimal pump configuration problem, which was presented by T. Westerlund in 1994. This problem hasbeen found to be non-convex, and the objective function contained several local optima and globaloptimality could not be ensured by all the traditional MINLP optimization method. The concepts ofspecies conserving and composite encoding are introduced to crowding genetic algorithm (CGA) formaintain the diversity of population more effectively and coping with the continuous and/or discretevariables in MINLP problem. The solution of three-levels pump configuration got from DICOPT++software (OA algorithm) is also given. By comparing with the solutions obtained from DICOPT++, ECPmethod, and MIN-MIN method, the ECGA algorithm proved to be very effective in finding the globaloptimal solution of multi-levels pump configuration via using the problem-specific information.

An Overview and Experimental Study of Learning-Based Optimization Algorithms for the Vehicle Routing Problem

The vehicle routing problem(VRP)is a typical discrete combinatorial optimization problem,and many models and algorithms have been proposed to solve the VRP and its variants.Although existing approaches have contributed significantly to the development of this field,these approaches either are limited in problem size or need manual intervention in choosing parameters.To solve these difficulties,many studies have considered learning-based optimization(LBO)algorithms to solve the VRP.This paper reviews recent advances in this field and divides relevant approaches into end-to-end approaches and step-by-step approaches.We performed a statistical analysis of the reviewed articles from various aspects and designed three experiments to evaluate the performance of four representative LBO algorithms.Finally,we conclude the applicable types of problems for different LBO algorithms and suggest directions in which researchers can improve LBO algorithms.

Solving Job-Shop Scheduling Problem Based on Improved Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

An improved adaptive particle swarm optimization(IAPSO)algorithm is presented for solving the minimum makespan problem of job shop scheduling problem(JSP).Inspired by hormone modulation mechanism,an adaptive hormonal factor(HF),composed of an adaptive local hormonal factor(H l)and an adaptive global hormonal factor(H g),is devised to strengthen the information connection between particles.Using HF,each particle of the swarm can adjust its position self-adaptively to avoid premature phenomena and reach better solution.The computational results validate the effectiveness and stability of the proposed IAPSO,which can not only find optimal or close-to-optimal solutions but also obtain both better and more stability results than the existing particle swarm optimization(PSO)algorithms.

Traveling Salesman Problem Using an Enhanced Hybrid Swarm Optimization Algorithm

The traveling salesman problem( TSP) is a well-known combinatorial optimization problem as well as an NP-complete problem. A dynamic multi-swarm particle swarm optimization and ant colony optimization( DMPSO-ACO) was presented for TSP.The DMPSO-ACO combined the exploration capabilities of the dynamic multi-swarm particle swarm optimizer( DMPSO) and the stochastic exploitation of the ant colony optimization( ACO) for solving the traveling salesman problem. In the proposed hybrid algorithm,firstly,the dynamic swarms,rapidity of the PSO was used to obtain a series of sub-optimal solutions through certain iterative times for adjusting the initial allocation of pheromone in ACO. Secondly,the positive feedback and high accuracy of the ACO were employed to solving whole problem. Finally,to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed hybrid algorithm,various scale benchmark problems were tested to demonstrate the potential of the proposed DMPSO-ACO algorithm. The results show that DMPSO-ACO is better in the search precision,convergence property and has strong ability to escape from the local sub-optima when compared with several other peer algorithms.

A Bi-population Cooperative Optimization Algorithm Assisted by an Autoencoder for Medium-scale Expensive Problems

This study presents an autoencoder-embedded optimization(AEO)algorithm which involves a bi-population cooperative strategy for medium-scale expensive problems(MEPs).A huge search space can be compressed to an informative lowdimensional space by using an autoencoder as a dimension reduction tool.The search operation conducted in this low space facilitates the population with fast convergence towards the optima.To strike the balance between exploration and exploitation during optimization,two phases of a tailored teaching-learning-based optimization(TTLBO)are adopted to coevolve solutions in a distributed fashion,wherein one is assisted by an autoencoder and the other undergoes a regular evolutionary process.Also,a dynamic size adjustment scheme according to problem dimension and evolutionary progress is proposed to promote information exchange between these two phases and accelerate evolutionary convergence speed.The proposed algorithm is validated by testing benchmark functions with dimensions varying from 50 to 200.As indicated in our experiments,TTLBO is suitable for dealing with medium-scale problems and thus incorporated into the AEO framework as a base optimizer.Compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms for MEPs,AEO shows extraordinarily high efficiency for these challenging problems,t hus opening new directions for various evolutionary algorithms under AEO to tackle MEPs and greatly advancing the field of medium-scale computationally expensive optimization.