Enhanced whale optimization algorithm for sizing optimization of skeletal structures

The whale optimization algorithm (WOA) is a recently developed swarm-based optimization algorithm inspired by the hunting behavior of humpback whales. This study attempts to enhance the original formulation of the WOA in order to improve solution accuracy, reliability and convergence speed. The new method, called enhanced whale optimization algorithm (EWOA), is tested in sizing optimization problems of truss and frame structures. The EWOA is compared with WOA and other metaheuristic methods developed in literature in four optimization problems of skeletal structures. Numerical results demonstrate the efficiency of the EWOA and WOA with the former algorithm being more efficient than its standard version.