Current Search: Performance Evaluation and Application to DC Motor Speed Control System Design

This paper proposes the current search (CS) metaheuristics conceptualized from the electric current flowing through electric networks for optimization problems with continuous design variables. The CS algorithm possesses two powerful strategies, exploration and exploitation, for searching the global optimum. Based on the stochastic process, the derivatives of the objective function is unnecessary for the proposed CS. To evaluate its performance, the CS is tested against several unconstrained optimization problems. The results obtained are compared to those obtained by the popular search techniques, i.e., the genetic algorithm (GA), the particle swarm optimization (PSO), and the adaptive tabu search (ATS). As results, the CS outperforms other algorithms and provides superior results. The CS is also applied to a constrained design of the optimum PID controller for the dc motor speed control system. From experimental results, the CS has been successfully applied to the speed control of the dc motor.