A novel self-adaptive multi-population quadratic approximation guided jaya for solving real-parameter constrained optimization problems

Abstract

Despite the inherent stability of Quadratic Approximation based Jaya (JaQA) in solving constrained optimization problems, its effectiveness in exploring the search space is limited. Furthermore, the user-defined penalty parameter utilized to mitigate constraint violation poses another impediment to the efficiency of JaQA. In light of these drawbacks, this paper introduces a new meta-heuristic algorithm, namely Self-adaptive Multi-population Quadratic Approximation guided Jaya (SMP-JaQA). The three additional key features of the SMP-JaQA over JaQA are (i) the inclusion of a multi-population technique to ensure sufficient diversity in the search process (to address the exploration), (ii) a self-adaptation strategy to make it more user-friendly for complex problems in various domains (to address the exploration further), and (iii) a dynamic penalty factor (to automate the penalty parameter). These novel changes help strike a balance between exploration and exploitation too by identifying potential areas in the search space and reduces the likelihood of getting stuck in a local optima. The validity of SMP-JaQA is tested over 18 and 28 benchmark functions of varying dimensions from the CEC-2010 and CEC-2017 test suites, respectively. In order to justify the wide applicability of the proposed algorithm, a set of four real-life constrained problems (includes two mechanical design problems, an electronics design problem and an agricultural problem) are being solved through SMP-JaQA. A thorough analysis of computational outcomes, exploration–exploitation phases, and scalability are presented to shed light on the efficacy and stability levels of SMP-JaQA. The results are compared with those of other state-of-the-art meta-heuristics using Friedman's and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests. The outcomes indicate that SMP-JaQA produces reasonable solutions in terms of global optimality and solution quality.