Genetic Programming Algorithm Research Articles

Multi-objective design optimization of polymer spur gears using a hybrid approach

Polymer gears are used in applications requiring small to moderate loads to effectively transmit power and use the limited place available as possible. Various commercial standards have been provided designers with the rating criteria and acquaintance of different polymer material properties for the process of design. However, the result was unsatisfactory in terms of economy, time, and the optimality of the product. Thus, classic and stochastic algorithms have been embraced to reach the best design of polymer gears. Taking advantage of the former and latter algorithm’ methods, optimal design of gears could be attained with an increased gear life span and decreased failure modes. In this study, polyoxymethylene (POM) spur gear set has been optimized combining the mathematical model from plastic standards and hybrid optimization approach of multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) and sequential quadratic programming (SQP). Weight and power loss were the objective functions. Five design variables were optimized with the satisfaction of bending and contact stresses, temperature, wear, and deformation as constraints. Solutions of the problem were formulated as Pareto optimal set. The results of multi-objective were compared with previously published single-objective optimization. The results favored multi-objective optimization (82.67%, 31.39% reduction in weight and power loss respectively) as it gave the best applicable solution fitting in real life situations. The results also went hand in hand with literature confirming the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. With the variation of operating parameters, various optimal designs could be obtained where the designers can choose the design that is suitable for a particular application.

Computational Screening of Some Phytochemicals to Identify Best Modulators for Ligand Binding Domain of Estrogen Receptor Alpha.

The peculiar aim of this study is to discover and identify the most effective and potential inhibitors against the most influential target ERα receptor by in silico studies of 45 phytochemicals from six diverse ayurvedic medicinal plants. The molecular docking investigation was carried out by the genetic algorithm program of AutoDock Vina. The molecular dynamic (MD) simulation investigations were conducted using the Desmond tool of Schrödinger molecular modelling. This study identified the top ten highest binding energy phytochemicals that were taken for drug-likeness test and ADMET profile prediction with the help of the web-based server QikpropADME. Molecular docking study revealed that ellagic acid (-9.3 kcal/mol), emodin (-9.1 kcal/mol), rhein (-9.1 kcal/mol), andquercetin (-9.0 kcal/mol) phytochemicals showed similar binding affinity as standard tamoxifen towards the target protein ERα. MD studies showed that all four compounds possess comparatively stable ligand-protein complexes with ERα target compared to the tamoxifen-ERα complex. Among the four compounds, phytochemical rhein formed a more stable complex than standard tamoxifen. ADMET studies for the top ten highest binding energy phytochemicals showed a better safety profile. Additionally, these compounds are being reported for the first time in this study as possible inhibitors of ERα for treating breast cancer, according to the notion of drug repurposing. Hence, these phytochemicals can be further studied and used as a parent core molecule to develop innovative lead molecules for breast cancer therapy.

A Comparative Study of Load Frequency Regulation for Multi-Area Interconnected Grids Using Integral Controller

The present paper provides an optimal design for load frequency control (LFC) in the interconnected power system. To obtain an adequate LFC response alongside shortening implementation time and minimizing costs, an integral (I) controller is used. A deep analysis of the I controller-based LFC is presented. At first, a two-area interconnected power system is used, and to enhance the LFC response, the I controller and frequency bias parameters are optimized using three novel optimization algorithms, which are the incomprehensible but intelligible-in-time logic algorithm (ILA), the coati optimization algorithm (COA), and the brown-bear optimization algorithm (BOA). Also, five well-known techniques, namely, particle swarm optimization (PSO), genetic algorithm (GA), simulated annealing (SA), pattern search (PS), and nonlinear programming (NP), are used. A new objective function utilizing the integral of squared error (ISE), settling time, settling-max, and settling-min of the dynamic response is used to increase the efficacy of estimating the parameters. The presented results in this paper showed that the optimized I controller outperforms the classic I controller. After considering a load change in one area by 18.75%, the optimized I controller achieved the lowest ISE values. ISE values were: 0.00582, 0.00179, 0.00176, 0.00178, 0.00321, 0.00304, 0.00179, 0.00185, and 0.00181, for classic I, PSO-I, GA-I, SA-I, PS-I, NP-I, ILA-I, COA-I, and BOA-I. Then, the proposed method is applied to a nonlinear two-area system, demonstrating that the proposed strategies can deal with nonlinearity. As the purpose of the hybrid power system is to create a robust energy infrastructure that adheres to sustainability standards, the proposed algorithms are analyzed in a three-area multi-source power system comprising renewable energy sources (RESs) such as photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbine (WT), a battery energy storage system (BESS), and an electric vehicle (EV).

Structure optimization of linear shaped charge based on different explosives

AbstractIn order to improve the damage ability of traditional shaped charge, a special linear shaped charge is designed. The driving characteristics of B explosive, HMX based explosive (JO‐8) and CL‐20 based explosive on linear explosively formed projectile (LEFP) are compared. The forming effect of LEFP is analyzed, the structural parameters of LEFP are designed, and the structure of shaped charge is optimized by combining genetic algorithm (NSGA‐II) and sequence quadratic programming (NLPQL). The Pulsed X‐ray experiment of scale LEFP is carried out. The results show that: (1) under the same structure, the LEFP formed by the shaped charge using CL‐20 explosive has better performance; (2) the LEFP formed by optimized B explosive is superior to that formed by unoptimized JO‐8 explosive, while LEFP formed by optimized JO‐8 explosive is superior to that formed by CL‐20 explosive, which indicates that explosives with lower energy density can also produce better LEFP after optimization; (3) The experimental results are consistent with the numerical results, which verifies the reliability of the numerical simulation and the effectiveness of the optimization method.

Automatic design of interpretable control laws through parametrized Genetic Programming with adjoint state method gradient evaluation

This work investigates the application of a Local Search (LS) enhanced Genetic Programming (GP) algorithm to the control scheme’s design task. The combination of LS and GP aims to produce an interpretable control law as similar as possible to the optimal control scheme reference. Inclusive Genetic Programming (IGP), a GP heuristic capable of promoting and maintaining the population diversity, is chosen as the GP algorithm since it proved successful on the considered task. IGP is enhanced with the Operators Gradient Descent (OPGD) approach, which consists of embedding learnable parameters into the GP individuals. These parameters are optimized during and after the evolutionary process. Moreover, the OPGD approach is combined with the adjoint state method to evaluate the gradient of the objective function. The original OPGD was formulated by relying on the backpropagation technique for the gradient’s evaluation, which is impractical in an optimization problem involving a dynamical system because of scalability and numerical errors. On the other hand, the adjoint method allows for overcoming this issue. Two experiments are formulated to test the proposed approach, named Operator Gradient Descent - Inclusive Genetic Programming (OPGD-IGP): the design of a Proportional–Derivative (PD) control law for a harmonic oscillator and the design of a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) control law for an inverted pendulum on a cart. OPGD-IGP proved successful in both experiments, being capable of autonomously designing an interpretable control law similar to the optimal ones, both in terms of shape and control gains.

A hybrid genetic programming algorithm for the distributed assembly scheduling problems with transportation and sequence-dependent setup times

This paper investigates a distributed assembly permutation flow-shop scheduling problem with transportation and sequence-dependent set-up times (DAPFSP-TSDST). A hybrid genetic programming (HGP) algorithm is proposed to optimize the makespan of the assembly stage, which inherits the merits of genetic programming (GP) and neighbourhood search operators. In HGP, a hybrid problem-specific initialization heuristic is developed to make populations more diverse. Multiple neighbourhood search operators are employed as the leaf nodes, which are vital for the success of GP. A product shift strategy is proposed to strengthen its exploitability. In addition, a simulated annealing criterion is adopted to make the HGP explore more thoroughly. Finally, statistical and computational experiments are carried out on the benchmark instances. The results exhaustively identify the notable competitiveness of the HGP algorithm in coping with the DAPFSP-TSDST.

Adsorption of O2 on the Preferred -O-Au Sites of Small Gold Oxide Clusters: Charge-dependent Interaction and Activation.

Decades of research have illuminated the significant roles of gold/gold oxide clusters in small molecule catalytic oxidation. However, many fundamental questions, such as the actual sites to adsorb and activate O2 and the impact of charge, remain unanswered. Here, we have utilized an improved genetic algorithm program coupled with the DFT method to systematically search for the structures of Au1-5Ox-/+/0 (x = 1-4) and calculated binding interactions between Au1-5Ox-/+/0 (x = 1-2) and O2, aiming to determine the active sites and to elucidate the impact of different charge states in gold oxide systems. The results revealed that the reactivity of all three kinds of small gold oxide clusters toward O2 is strongly site-dependent, with clusters featuring an -O-Au site exhibiting a preference for adsorption. The charges on small gold oxide clusters significantly impact the interaction strength and the activation degree of adsorbed O2: in the case of anionic cluster, the interaction between O2 and the -O-Au sites leads to a chemical reaction involving electron transfer, thereby significantly activating O2; in neutral and cationic clusters, the adsorption of O2 on their -O-Au sites can be viewed as an electrostatic interaction. Pointedly, for cationic clusters, the highly concentrated positive charge on the Au atom of the -O-Au sites can strongly adsorb but hardly activate the adsorbed O2. These results have certain reference points for understanding the gold oxide interfaces and the improved catalytic oxidation performance of gold-based systems in the presence of atomic oxygen species.

Analysis and optimization of pre-stressed modal features of ship anchor support parts

In order to solve the problems of excessive weight and unreasonable structure of anchor machine parts caused by traditional design methods, a lightweight optimization method was proposed based on pre-stressed modal analysis. The design variables were determined, and the parameterized model was established by using ANSYS Workbench. Under ultimate load conditions, the strength of wall frame board and lower box bodies was simulated and calculated. Through modal analysis, the discretized natural frequencies under different design variables could be obtained. The multi-objective genetic algorithm and sequence quadratic programming were respectively used to calculate the lightweight analysis model. The results showed that the weight of the supporting components in ship anchor can be reduced by more than 5 % without reducing strength and equivalent stiffness.

A multi-surrogate genetic programming hyper-heuristic algorithm for the manufacturing project scheduling problem with setup times under dynamic and interference environments

In this study, in order to cope with the uncertain environments and space interference scenarios encountered in the production process for a class of manufacturing projects, we propose a novel manufacturing project scheduling problem with setup times under dynamic and interference environments (MPSPST-DIE), and design a novel multi-surrogate genetic programming hyper-heuristic (HH-MGP) algorithm to address it. Firstly, MPSPST-DIE is required to make decisions on the activity schedule, resource setup and space allocation. Therefore, we modify the traditional resource based policy class that only contains the activity schedule and simulate the entire scheduling process. Secondly, a new hyper-heuristic genetic programming algorithm is designed to automatically evolve activity rules, resource setup rules and space allocation rules simultaneously. Moreover, the multi-surrogate is devised to improve the performance of the basic genetic programming (GP) algorithm. In addition, a new evolutionary learning mechanism is embedded in the multi-surrogate. Different surrogates learn from each other to complement each other’s strengths. Finally, numerical instances of the MPSPST-DIE are generated by configuring specific parameters of spatial resources and extensive numerical experiments are performed. At the same time, we implement the Taguchi experiment for the sensitivity analysis of parameters. The comparative analysis between the HH-MGP and traditional rules is performed. Further, the performance comparison between the multi-surrogate and other surrogates is also conducted. The experimental results show that the evolved rule of the HH-MGP performs better than the traditional rules for the MPSPST-DIE. The performance of the multi-surrogate model added to the GP algorithm are generally better than the single-surrogate model and no-surrogate.

Automatic Optimization of JWL‐Miller parameters of HMX‐based aluminized explosive based on genetic algorithm

AbstractThe calibration of JWL‐Miller equation of state (EOS) parameters for aluminized explosive is a cumbersome but important work in explosive evaluation. Manual calibration is usually adopted while the work may be tedious and the optimal results may be unachievable. An automatic calibrating method was established to optimize this procedure based on genetic algorithm program and finite element software. Optimal JWL‐Miller EOS parameters were achieved by iterative calculation calibrating with cylinder test results and underwater‐explosion experiment results. Cylinder test results were adopted to illustrate the initial phase of explosion, and underwater explosion experiments were conducted to calibrating the Miller term of the equation of state. The results showed that the error between cylinder test and simulation result was less than 1 %, the error of underwater explosion impulse between test and simulation results was less than 3.73 %. The optimized parameters of JWL‐Miller EOS will be useful in the numerical simulation research of aluminized explosives.

Optimization of surface texture distribution on the thrust bearing using the mass-conserving cavitation boundary condition: Theory and experiments

This study developed a numerical optimization model for the texture distribution in thrust bearings, employing the flat-headed chevron and circular dimple, and utilizing a mass-conserving cavitation boundary. A hybrid of the genetic algorithm and sequential quadratic programming algorithm is utilized. The results indicate the highest load-carrying capacity can be obtained by optimizing the texture distribution based on the flat-headed chevron. The primary mechanism is that the optimal distribution can efficiently harness the collective effect of texture, thereby effectively building up pressure. The optimal distributions of the flat-headed chevron and circular dimples exhibit asymmetric chevron and herringbone shapes, respectively. Furthermore, verification experiments show that the optimal distribution can shift the transition point to a lower rotation speed and higher normal load.

On the application of symbolic regression in the energy sector: Estimation of combined cycle power plant electrical power output using genetic programming algorithm

This paper focuses on the estimation of electrical power output (Pe) in a combined cycle power plant (CCPP) using ambient temperature (AT), vacuum in the condenser (V), ambient pressure (AP), and relative humidity (RH). The study stresses accurate estimation for better CCPP performance and energy efficiency through responsive control to changing conditions. The novelty lies in applying genetic programming (GP) on a publicly available dataset to generate Symbolic Expressions (SEs) for high-accuracy Pe. To address the challenge of numerous GP hyperparameters, a random hyperparameter values search method (RHVS) is introduced to find optimal combinations, resulting in SEs with higher accuracy. SEs are created with varying input variables, and their performance is evaluated using multiple metrics (coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), mean square error (MSE), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), Kling–Gupta Efficiency (KGE), and Bland–Altman (B-A) analysis). A key innovation involves combining the best SEs through an Averaging ensemble (AE), leading to a robust estimation accuracy. Notably, the AE YVE−2 achieves the highest (Pe) accuracy, including R2=0.9368, MAE=3.3378, MSE=18.4800, RMSE=4.2985, MAPE=0.7354%, and KGE=0.9479. The investigation highlights AT as the most influential variable, underscoring the importance of choosing inputs aligned with physical processes. This paper’s outlined procedure, combining GP, hyperparameter optimization, and ensemble techniques, offers an efficient method for estimating Pe in CCPP. It promises simplicity and effectiveness in real-world applications. B-A analysis proves valuable for SE selection, enhancing the proposed methodology.

Evolutionary modeling approach based on multiobjective genetic programming for strip quality prediction

In the iron and steel industry, hardness is one of the key indicators of strip quality in the continuous annealing production line (CAPL). However, the complex production process and the strong coupled nonlinearity between process parameters make it difficult to develop accurate mechanism models and pose a challenge for data-driven modeling approaches. More importantly, most of the data-driven learning methods lack interpretability and cannot characterize the mathematical relationship between process parameters and product quality, which in turn makes it extremely hard to understand the process mechanism. Therefore, this paper proposes an interpretable modeling approach (IMA) based on feature decomposition and ensemble to construct interpretable analytical models between process parameters and strip quality. In the IMA, a data-mechanism fusion-based feature decomposition (DM_FD) method is first applied to cope with high-dimensional input feature problems. Then, an improved multiobjective genetic programming algorithm (iMOGP) is developed to construct interpretability sub-models. Finally, a sparse optimization ensemble method (SOE) is used to integrate the sub-models to achieve interpretability and good generalization. Experimental results based on practical strip data demonstrate that the proposed IMA can cope well with high-dimensional input features and achieve model interpretability compared with commonly used machine learning methods and genetic programming (GP)-based modeling methods while ensuring better accuracy and generalization.

Process optimization, multi-gene genetic programming modeling and reliability assessment of bioactive extracts recovery from Phyllantus emblica

This study investigates the feasibility of extracting bioactive antioxidants from Phyllantus emblica leaves using a combination of ethanol-water mixture (0-100%) and heat-assisted extraction technology (HAE-T). Operating temperature (30-50°C), solid-to-liquid ratio (1:20-1:60 g/mL), and extraction time (45-180 min) were varied to determine their effects on extract total phenolic content (TPC), yield (EY), and antioxidant activity (AA). The Box-Behnken experimental design (BBD) within response surface methodology (RSM) was employed, with multi-objective process optimization using the desirability function algorithm to find the optimal process variables for maximizing TPC, EY, and AA simultaneously. The extraction process was modeled using BBD-RSM and multi-gene genetic programming (MGGP) algorithm, with model reliability assessed via Monte Carlo simulation. HPLC characterization identified betulinic acid, gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, ellagic acid, and ferulic acid as bioactive constituents in the extract. The study found that a 50% ethanol solution yielded the best extraction efficiency. The optimal process parameters for maximum EY (21.6565%), TPC (67.116 mg GAE/g), and AA (3.68583 µM AAE/g) were determined as OT of 41.61°C, S:L of 1:60 g/mL, and ET of 180 min. Both BBD-RSM and MGGP-based models satisfactorily predicted the observed process responses, with BBD-RSM models showing slightly better performance. Reliability analysis indicated high certainty in the predictions, with BBD-RSM models achieving 99.985% certainty for TPC, 97.569% for EY, and 98.661% for AA values.

Evolving many-objective dispatching rule pairs for unrelated parallel machine scheduling with sequence-dependent setup times

The real-world problem of unrelated parallel machine scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times (UPMSPSST) is investigated and focuses on two key aspects: fast solution and many-objective optimization. While dispatching rules (DRs) are effective in meeting demand, the manual design of many-objective DRs (MaODRs) is challenging. An alternative approach, based on the automatic evolution of MaODRs using hyper-heuristics, shows promise. However, limited literature exists on the automatic evolution of MaODRs specifically for UPMSPSST. In this study, a many-objective genetic programming (MaOGP) algorithm is formed by combining many-objective evolutionary algorithms (MaOEAs) with genetic programming (GP) algorithms. This enables the automatic evolution of MaODRs, leveraging the respective advantages of each approach. The exploration results demonstrate that the evolved MaODRs outperform manually designed DRs reported in prior literature. Furthermore, when considering combinations of objectives with different correlations, the MaODRs exhibit outstanding performance across multiple objectives simultaneously, surpassing even the performance of DRs trained separately for individual objectives. These findings highlight the potential of the proposed MaOGP approach in efficiently and effectively solving the UPMSPSST problem, opening avenues for further research and practical applications in related industries.

Automatic Feature Construction-Based Genetic Programming for Degraded Image Classification

Accurately classifying degraded images is a challenging task that relies on domain expertise to devise effective image processing techniques for various levels of degradation. Genetic Programming (GP) has been proven to be an excellent approach for solving image classification tasks. However, the program structures designed in current GP-based methods are not effective in classifying images with quality degradation. During the iterative process of GP algorithms, the high similarity between individuals often results in convergence to local optima, hindering the discovery of the best solutions. Moreover, the varied degrees of image quality degradation often lead to overfitting in the solutions derived by GP. Therefore, this research introduces an innovative program structure, distinct from the traditional program structure, which automates the creation of new features by transmitting information learned across multiple nodes, thus improving GP individual ability in constructing discriminative features. An accompanying evolution strategy addresses high similarity among GP individuals by retaining promising ones, thereby refining the algorithm’s development of more effective GP solutions. To counter the potential overfitting issue of the best GP individual, a multi-generational individual ensemble strategy is proposed, focusing on constructing an ensemble GP individual with an enhanced generalization capability. The new method evaluates performance in original, blurry, low contrast, noisy, and occlusion scenarios for six different types of datasets. It compares with a multitude of effective methods. The results show that the new method achieves better classification performance on degraded images compared with the comparative methods.

Expressive mortality models through Gaussian process kernels

AbstractWe develop a flexible Gaussian process (GP) framework for learning the covariance structure of Age- and Year-specific mortality surfaces. Utilizing the additive and multiplicative structure of GP kernels, we design a genetic programming algorithm to search for the most expressive kernel for a given population. Our compositional search builds off the Age–Period–Cohort (APC) paradigm to construct a covariance prior best matching the spatio-temporal dynamics of a mortality dataset. We apply the resulting genetic algorithm (GA) on synthetic case studies to validate the ability of the GA to recover APC structure and on real-life national-level datasets from the Human Mortality Database. Our machine learning-based analysis provides novel insight into the presence/absence of Cohort effects in different populations and into the relative smoothness of mortality surfaces along the Age and Year dimensions. Our modeling work is done with the PyTorch libraries in Python and provides an in-depth investigation of employing GA to aid in compositional kernel search for GP surrogates.

Semantic Linear Genetic Programming for Symbolic Regression.

Symbolic regression (SR) is an important problem with many applications, such as automatic programming tasks and data mining. Genetic programming (GP) is a commonly used technique for SR. In the past decade, a branch of GP that utilizes the program behavior to guide the search, called semantic GP (SGP), has achieved great success in solving SR problems. However, existing SGP methods only focus on the tree-based chromosome representation and usually encounter the bloat issue and unsatisfactory generalization ability. To address these issues, we propose a new semantic linear GP (SLGP) algorithm. In SLGP, we design a new chromosome representation to encode the programs and semantic information in a linear fashion. To utilize the semantic information more effectively, we further propose a novel semantic genetic operator, namely, mutate-and-divide propagation, to recursively propagate the semantic error within the linear program. The empirical results show that the proposed method has better training and test errors than the state-of-the-art algorithms in solving SR problems and can achieve a much smaller program size.

Optimization of Topological Reconfiguration in Electric Power Systems Using Genetic Algorithm and Nonlinear Programming with Discontinuous Derivatives

This article addresses a comprehensive analysis of power electrical systems, employing a combined approach of genetic algorithms and mathematical optimization through nonlinear programming with discontinuous derivatives (DNLP) in GAMS. The primary objective is to minimize economic losses and associated costs faced by the network operator following disruptive events. The analysis is divided into two fundamental aspects. Firstly, it addresses the topological reconfiguration of the network, involving the addition of lines and distributed energy resources such as distributed generation. To determine the optimal topological reconfiguration, a genetic algorithm was developed and implemented. This approach aims to restore electrical service to the maximum load within the system. Secondly, an optimal energy dispatch was performed for each generator, considering the variation in load throughout the day. The system’s load curve is taken into account to determine the optimal energy distribution. Thus, the problem of economic losses is approached from two perspectives: the minimization of costs due to nonsupplied electrical energy and the determination of efficient energy dispatch for each generator after network reconfiguration. For the analysis and case studies, simulations were conducted on the IEEE 9- and 30-node test systems. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution, evaluated in terms of reduced load shedding and economic losses.

Survey on Genetic Programming and Machine Learning Techniques for Heuristic Design in Job Shop Scheduling

Job shop scheduling is a process of optimising the use of limited resources to improve the production efficiency. Job shop scheduling has a wide range of applications such as order picking in the warehouse and vaccine delivery scheduling under a pandemic. In real-world applications, the production environment is often complex due to dynamic events such as job arrivals over time and machine breakdown. Scheduling heuristics, e.g., dispatching rules, have been popularly used to prioritise the candidates such as machines in manufacturing to make good schedules efficiently. Genetic programming, has shown its superiority in learning scheduling heuristics for job shop scheduling automatically due to its flexible representation. This survey firstly provides comprehensive discussions of recent designs of genetic programming algorithms on different types of job shop scheduling. In addition, we notice that in the recent years, a range of machine learning techniques such as feature selection and multitask learning, have been adapted to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of scheduling heuristic design with genetic programming. However, there is no survey to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these recent approaches. To fill this gap, this paper provides a comprehensive survey on genetic programming and machine learning techniques on automatic scheduling heuristic design for job shop scheduling. In addition, current issues and challenges are discussed to identify promising areas for automatic scheduling heuristic design in the future.