Multiple Crossover per Couple with Selection of the Two Best Offspring: An Experimental Study with the BLX-alpha Crossover Operator for Real-Coded Genetic Algorithms

In this paper, we propose a technique for the application of the crossover operator that generates multiple descendants from two parents and selects the two best offspring to replace the parents in the new population. In order to study the proposal, we present different instances based on the BLX-α crossover operator for real-coded genetic algorithms. In particular, we investigate the influence of the number of generated descendants in this operator, the number of evaluations, and the value for the its operator parameter, α. Analyzing the experimentation that we have carried out, we can observe that it is possible, with multiple descendants, to achieve a suitable balance between the explorative properties associated to BLX-α and the high selective pressure associated to the selection of the two best descendants.