An adaptive parameter binary-real coded genetic algorithm for constraint optimization problems: Performance analysis and estimation of optimal control parameters

Real parameter constrained problems are an important class of optimization problems that are encountered frequently in a variety of real world problems. On one hand, Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are an efficient search metaheuristic and a prominent member within the family of Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs), which have been applied successfully to global optimization problems. However, genetic operators in their standard forms are blind to the presence of constraints. Thus, the extension of GAs to constrained optimization problems by incorporating suitable handing techniques is an active direction within GAs research. Recently, we have proposed a Binary Real coded Genetic Algorithm (BRGA). BRGA is a new hybrid approach that combines cooperative Binary coded GA (BGA) with Real coded GA (RGA). It employs an adaptive parameter-based hybrid scheme that distributes the computational power and regulates the interactions between the cooperative versions, which operate in a sequential time-interleaving manner. In this study, we aim to extend BRGA to constrained problems by introducing a modified dynamic penalty function into the architecture of BRGA. We use the CEC’2010 benchmark suite of 18 functions to analyze the quality, time and scalability performance of BRGA. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed modification, we compare the performance of BRGA under both the original and the modified penalty functions. Moreover, to demonstrate the performance of BRGA, we compare it with the performance of some other EAs from the literature. We also implement a robust parameter tuning procedure that relies on techniques from statistical testing, experimental design and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to estimate the optimal values for the control parameters to secure a good performance by BRGA against specific problems at hand. 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.