In this paper we present, to our knowledge, the first application of a metaheuristic technique to the very popular and NP-complete puzzle known as ‘sudoku’. We see that this stochastic searchbased algorithm, which uses simulated annealing, is able to complete logic-solvable puzzle-instances that feature daily in many of the UK’s national newspapers. We also introduce a new method for producing ...

The paper deals with problems and ultramodern approaches recommended to solve various combinatorial optimization (CO) tasks, by using different types of computing environments, including various clouds (CC). A lot of new ideas have been proposed or at least outlined. Non-standard evaluation of the goal function value is also considered.

As a combination of different methodologies or parts of methodologies, Multimethodology is becoming more frequent in OR practice. This paper contributes with a new proposal and a new field of application: the employment of Multimethodology in problem solving with Metaheuristics (Mh). A convenient selection of soft and hard methods will be considered, from Soft OR, Creativity and Metaheuristics,...

We reconsider stochastic convergence analyses of particle swarm optimisation, and point out that previously obtained parameter conditions are not always sufficient to guarantee mean square convergence to a local optimum. We show that stagnation can in fact occur for non-trivial configurations in non-optimal parts of the search space, even for simple functions like SPHERE. The convergence proper...

Metaheuristics are widely employed to solve hard optimization problems, like vehicle routing problems (VRP), for which exact solution methods impractical. In particular, local search-based metaheuristics have been successfully applied the capacitated VRP (CVRP). The CVRP aims at defining minimum-cost delivery routes a given set of identical vehicles since each only travels one route and there i...

In this investigation, the authors intend to demonstrate the applicability of a recent spotlighted metaheuristic called the great salmon run (TGSR) algorithm for shape and size design of truss structures. The algorithmic functioning of TGSR emulates the annual migration of salmons together with dangers laid through their pathways. In a previous study by the authors, it has been proved that the ...

The foundations for evolutionary algorithms (EAs) were established in the end of the 60’s [1, 2] (EAs) and strengthened in the beginning of the 70’s [3, 4]. EAs appeared as an alternative to the exact or approximate optimization methods whose application to many real problems were not acceptable in terms of performance. When applied to real problems, EAs provide a valuable relation between qual...