A memetic discrete differential evolution algorithm for the distributed permutation flow shop scheduling problem

The distributed manufacturing has become a prevail production mode under the economic globalization. In this article, a memetic discrete differential evolution (MDDE) algorithm is proposed to address the distributed permutation flow shop scheduling problem (DPFSP) with the minimization of the makespan. An enhanced NEH (Nawaz-Enscore-Ham) method is presented to produce potential candidate solutions and Taillard's acceleration method is adopted to ameliorate the operational efficiency of the MDDE. A new discrete mutation strategy is introduced to promote the search efficiency of the MDDE. Four neighborhood structures, which are based on job sequence and factory assignment adjustment mechanisms, are introduced to prevent the candidates from falling the local optimum during the search process. A neighborhood search mechanism is selected adaptively through a knowledge-based strategy which focuses on the adaptive evaluation for the neighborhood selection. The optimal combinations of parameters in the MDDE algorithm are testified by the design of experiment. The computational results and comparisons demonstrated the effectiveness of the MDDE algorithm for solving the DPFSP.

Automated summary

The paper proposes a MDDE algorithm to solve the distributed permutation flow shop scheduling problem, with improved efficiency through optimization of NEH method, Taillard acceleration method, discrete mutation strategy, and neighborhood structures. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm in solving the DPFSP.