A Hybrid Whale Optimization Algorithm for Global Optimization

Abstract

This paper proposes a hybrid whale optimization algorithm (WOA) that is derived from the genetic and thermal exchange optimization-based whale optimization algorithm (GWOA-TEO) to enhance global optimization capability. First, the high-quality initial population is generated to improve the performance of GWOA-TEO. Then, thermal exchange optimization (TEO) is applied to improve exploitation performance. Next, a memory is considered that can store historical best-so-far solutions, achieving higher performance without adding additional computational costs. Finally, a crossover operator based on the memory and a position update mechanism of the leading solution based on the memory are proposed to improve the exploration performance. The GWOA-TEO algorithm is then compared with five state-of-the-art optimization algorithms on CEC 2017 benchmark test functions and 8 UCI repository datasets. The statistical results of the CEC 2017 benchmark test functions show that the GWOA-TEO algorithm has good accuracy for global optimization. The classification results of 8 UCI repository datasets also show that the GWOA-TEO algorithm has competitive results with regard to comparison algorithms in recognition rate. Thus, the proposed algorithm is proven to execute excellent performance in solving optimization problems.