A New Set of Mutation Operators for Dragonfly Algorithm

Abstract

Dragonfly algorithm (DA) is a recently introduced, swarm intelligent algorithm and has proved its worth over real-world optimization problems. The algorithm is very efficient but is computationally expensive, has poor exploration properties, and unbalanced cohesion and alignment operation. In the present work, the concept of mutation operators has been exploited and seven new versions of DA have been proposed. Adaptive parameters, division of generations, improved exploitation phase and linearly decreasing population adaptation are also followed to improve the exploration, convergence and other properties of DA. The proposed algorithms are experimentally tested on CEC 2005 data set, CEC 2015 data set and CEC 2011 real-world benchmark problems and compared with respect to memory-based hybrid dragonfly algorithm (MHDA), hybrid memory-based dragonfly algorithm with differential evolution (DADE), sine–cosine crow search algorithm (SCCSA), success history-based adaptation differential evolution (SHADE), covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMA-ES), SHADE based on semi-parameter adaptation-based CMA-ES (LSHADE-SPACMA), hybrid particle swarm gravitational search algorithm (PSOGSA), hybrid firefly and particle swarm optimization algorithm (HFPSO) and others. Experimental and statistical results further validate that mutation clock-based DA (MDA) performs better than all other algorithms under comparison.