A Parallel Mix Self-Adaptive Genetic Algorithm for Solving the Dynamic Economic Dispatch Problem

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to propose a parallel genetic algorithm that has adaptive and self-adaptive characteristics at the same time for solving the Dynamic Economic Dispatch (DED) problem that is a challenging problem to solve. The algorithm selects the proper operators (using adaptive features) and probabilities (using the self-adaptive code) that produce the most fittable individuals. Regarding operations, the choice is made between four different types of crossover: simple, arithmetical, non-uniform arithmetical, and linear. Concerning mutation, we used four types of mutations (uniform, non-uniform, creep, and enhanced apso). The choice is made scholastically, which is uniform at the beginning of the algorithm, being adapted as the AG  executes. The crossover and mutation probabilities are coded into the genes, transforming this part of the algorithm into self-adaptive. The multicore version was coded using OpenMP. An ANOVA test, along with a Tukey test, proved that the mixed self-adaptive algorithm works better than both: a random algorithm, which chooses operators randomly, and a combination of operators set previously in the DED optimization. Regarding the performance of the parallel approach, results have shown that a speedup of up to 3.19 can be reached with no loss in the quality of solutions.