The main goal of this paper is to attempt an unbiased comparison of the performance of straightforward implementations of five different metaheuristics on a university course timetabling problem. In particular, the metaheuristics under consideration are Evolutionary Algorithms, Ant Colony Optimization, Iterated Local Search, Simulated Annealing, and Tabu Search. To attempt fairness, the impleme...

We introduce a metaheuristic framework for combinatorial optimization. Our framework is similar to others (e.g. [1]) in that it is modular enough that important components can be independently developed. Ours is different in several aspects. It supports several built-in components such as combinatorial representations and search heuristics to facilitate the creation of a new optimizer for a wid...

Metaheuristic algorithm is one of the most popular methods in solving many optimization problems. This paper presents a new hybrid approach comprising of two natures inspired metaheuristic algorithms i.e. Cuckoo Search (CS) and Accelerated Particle Swarm Optimization (APSO) for training Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). In order to increase the probability of the egg’s survival, the cuckoo bird...

in this paper, a comprehensive model is proposed to design a network for multi-period, multi-echelon, and multi-product inventory controlled the supply chain. various marketing strategies and guerrilla marketing approaches are considered in the design process under the static competition condition. the goal of the proposed model is to efficiently respond to the customers’ demands in the presenc...

The Cell Formation Problem is an NP-hard optimization problem that consists of grouping machines into cells dedicated to producing a family of product parts, so that each cell operates independently and inter-cellular movements are minimized. Due to its high computational complexity, several heuristic methods have been developed over the last decades. Hybrid methods based on adaptations of popu...

The use of FACTS devices in power systems has become increasingly popular recent years, as they offer a number benefits, including improved voltage profile, reduced losses, and increased system reliability safety. However, determining the optimal type, location, size can be challenging optimization problem, it involves mixed integer, nonlinear, nonconvex constraints. To address this issue, rese...

This work proposes an “ad hoc” new method for variable selection in classification, specifically in Discriminant Analysis. This new method is based on the metaheuristic strategy Tabu Search. From a computational point of view variable selection is a NP-Hard problem and therefore there is no guarantee of finding the optimum solution (NP = Nondeterministic Polynomial Time). This means that when t...

We present a metaheuristic methodology for the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem with two-dimensional loading constraints (2LCVRP). 2L-CVRP is a generalisation of the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem, in which customer demand is formed by a set of twodimensional, rectangular, weighted items. The purpose of this problem is to produce the minimum cost routes, starting and terminating at a ce...

Annual crop planning (ACP) is an NP-Hard type optimisation problem in agricultural planning. It involves finding optimal solutions for the seasonal allocations of a limited amount of agricultural land among the various competing crops that need to be grown on it. This study investigates the effectiveness of employing three relatively new Swarm Intelligence (SI) techniques in determining solutio...