Chaos-Enhanced Cuckoo Search for Economic Dispatch with Valve Point Effects

Economic dispatch determines the optimal generation outputs to minimize the toal fuel cost while satisfying the load demand and operational constraints. Modern optimization techniques fail to solve the problem in a robust manner and finding robust global optimization techniques is necessary for efficient system operation. In this study, the potentiality of introducing chaos into the standard Cuckoo Search (CS) in order to further enhance its global search ability is investigated. Deterministic chaotic maps are random-based techniques that can provide a balanced exploration and exploitation searches for the algorithm. Four different variants are generated by carefully choosing four different locations (within the standard CS) with potential adoption of a candidate chaotic map.Then detailed studies are carried out on benchmark power system problems with four different locations to find out the most efficient one. The best of all test cases generated is chosen and compared with algorithms presented in the literature. The results show that the proposed method with the proposed chaotic map outperforms standard CS. Additionally, the chaos-enhanced CS has a very good performance in comparison with QPSO and NSS

Pumped-Storage Scheduling Using Glowworm Swarm Algorithm

This paper presents new solution methods and results based on a glowworm swarm algorithm for solving the 24-hour pumped-storage generation scheduling problem. Complete solution algorithms and encoding/decoding techniques are proposed in the paper. The optimal schedules of both pumped-storage and thermal units are concurrently obtained within the evolutionary process of evaluation functions. Significantly, no hydro-thermal iteration is needed. The proposed approach is applied with success to an actual utility system, which consists of four pumped-storage units and 34 thermal units. The results indicate the attractive properties of the glowworm swarm algorithm in practical application, namely, a highly optimal solution cost and more robust convergence behaviour

Metaheuristic Optimization of Power and Energy Systems: Underlying Principles and Main Issues of the `Rush to Heuristics'

In the power and energy systems area, a progressive increase of literature contributions that contain applications of metaheuristic algorithms is occurring. In many cases, these applications are merely aimed at proposing the testing of an existing metaheuristic algorithm on a specific problem, claiming that the proposed method is better than other methods that are based on weak comparisons. This ‘rush to heuristics’ does not happen in the evolutionary computation domain, where the rules for setting up rigorous comparisons are stricter but are typical of the domains of application of the metaheuristics. This paper considers the applications to power and energy systems and aims at providing a comprehensive view of the main issues that concern the use of metaheuristics for global optimization problems. A set of underlying principles that characterize the metaheuristic algorithms is presented. The customization of metaheuristic algorithms to fit the constraints of specific problems is discussed. Some weaknesses and pitfalls that are found in literature contributions are identified, and specific guidelines are provided regarding how to prepare sound contributions on the application of metaheuristic algorithms to specific problems

Improved Glowworm Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Multilevel Color Image Thresholding Problem

The thresholding process finds the proper threshold values by optimizing a criterion, which can be considered as a constrained optimization problem. The computation time of traditional thresholding techniques will increase dramatically for multilevel thresholding. To greatly overcome this problem, swarm intelligence algorithm is widely used to search optimal thresholds. In this paper, an improved glowworm swarm optimization (IGSO) algorithm has been presented to find the optimal multilevel thresholds of color image based on the between-class variance and minimum cross entropy (MCE). The proposed methods are examined on standard set of color test images by using various numbers of threshold values. The results are then compared with those of basic glowworm swarm optimization, adaptive particle swarm optimization (APSO), and self-adaptive differential evolution (SaDE). The simulation results show that the proposed method can find the optimal thresholds accurately and efficiently and is an effective multilevel thresholding method for color image segmentation

Advances in Theoretical and Computational Energy Optimization Processes

The paradigm in the design of all human activity that requires energy for its development must change from the past. We must change the processes of product manufacturing and functional services. This is necessary in order to mitigate the ecological footprint of man on the Earth, which cannot be considered as a resource with infinite capacities. To do this, every single process must be analyzed and modified, with the aim of decarbonising each production sector. This collection of articles has been assembled to provide ideas and new broad-spectrum contributions for these purposes

Optimization for Decision Making II

In the current context of the electronic governance of society, both administrations and citizens are demanding the greater participation of all the actors involved in the decision-making process relative to the governance of society. This book presents collective works published in the recent Special Issue (SI) entitled “Optimization for Decision Making II”. These works give an appropriate response to the new challenges raised, the decision-making process can be done by applying different methods and tools, as well as using different objectives. In real-life problems, the formulation of decision-making problems and the application of optimization techniques to support decisions are particularly complex and a wide range of optimization techniques and methodologies are used to minimize risks, improve quality in making decisions or, in general, to solve problems. In addition, a sensitivity or robustness analysis should be done to validate/analyze the influence of uncertainty regarding decision-making. This book brings together a collection of inter-/multi-disciplinary works applied to the optimization of decision making in a coherent manner

Intelligent Circuits and Systems

ICICS-2020 is the third conference initiated by the School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering at Lovely Professional University that explored recent innovations of researchers working for the development of smart and green technologies in the fields of Energy, Electronics, Communications, Computers, and Control. ICICS provides innovators to identify new opportunities for the social and economic benefits of society.　 This conference bridges the gap between academics and R&D institutions, social visionaries, and experts from all strata of society to present their ongoing research activities and foster research relations between them. It provides opportunities for the exchange of new ideas, applications, and experiences in the field of smart technologies and finding global partners for future collaboration. The ICICS-2020 was conducted in two broad categories, Intelligent Circuits & Intelligent Systems and Emerging Technologies in Electrical Engineering