A whale optimization algorithm based on quadratic interpolation for high-dimensional global optimization problems

Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), as a new population-based optimization algorithm, performs well in solving optimization problems. However, when tackling high-dimensional global optimization problems, WOA tends to fall into local optimal solutions and has slow convergence rate and low solution accuracy. To address these problems, a whale optimization algorithm based on quadratic interpolation (QIWOA) is presented. On the one hand, a modified exploration process by introducing a new parameter is proposed to efficiently search the regions and deal with the premature convergence problem. On the other hand, quadratic interpolation around the best search agent helps QIWOA to improve the exploitation ability and the solution accuracy. Moreover, the algorithm tries to make a balance between exploitation and exploration. QIWOA is compared with several state-of-the-art algorithms on 30 high-dimensional benchmark functions with dimensions ranging from 100 to 2000. The experimental results show that QIWOA has faster convergence rate and higher solution accuracy than both WOA and other population-based algorithms. For functions with a flat or sharp bottom, QIWOA is difficult to find the global optimum, but it still performs best compared with other algorithms. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.