Improved Whale Algorithm for Solving the Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Problem

Fei Luan, Zongyan Cai, Shuqiang Wu, Tianhua Jiang, Fukang Li and Jia Yang
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Fei Luan: School of Construction Machinery, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China
Zongyan Cai: School of Construction Machinery, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China
Shuqiang Wu: School of Construction Machinery, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China
Tianhua Jiang: School of Transportation, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Fukang Li: School of Construction Machinery, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China
Jia Yang: School of Construction Machinery, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China

Mathematics, 2019, vol. 7, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: In this paper, a novel improved whale optimization algorithm (IWOA), based on the integrated approach, is presented for solving the flexible job shop scheduling problem (FJSP) with the objective of minimizing makespan. First of all, to make the whale optimization algorithm (WOA) adaptive to the FJSP, the conversion method between the whale individual position vector and the scheduling solution is firstly proposed. Secondly, a resultful initialization scheme with certain quality is obtained using chaotic reverse learning (CRL) strategies. Thirdly, a nonlinear convergence factor (NFC) and an adaptive weight (AW) are introduced to balance the abilities of exploitation and exploration of the algorithm. Furthermore, a variable neighborhood search (VNS) operation is performed on the current optimal individual to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of the local exploration. Experimental results on various benchmark instances show that the proposed IWOA can obtain competitive results compared to the existing algorithms in a short time.

Keywords: whale optimization algorithm; flexible job shop scheduling problem; nonlinear convergence factor; adaptive weight; variable neighborhood search (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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