Training and testing a self-adaptive multi-operator evolutionary algorithm for constrained optimization

Over the last two decades, many different evolutionary algorithms (EAs) have been introduced for solving constrained optimization problems (COPs). Due to the variability of the characteristics in different COPs, no single algorithm performs consistently over a range of practical problems. To design and refine an algorithm, numerous trial-and-error runs are often performed in order to choose a suitable search operator and the parameters. However, even by trial-and-error, one may not find an appropriate search operator and parameters. In this paper, we have applied the concept of training and testing with a self-adaptive multi-operator based evolutionary algorithm to find suitable parameters. The training and testing sets are decided based on the mathematical properties of 60 problems from two well-known specialized benchmark test sets. The experimental results provide interesting insights and a new way of choosing parameters. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.