Differential evolution strategy for constrained global optimization and application to practical engineering problems

In this paper, some modifications to the differential evolution strategy are proposed for the constrained global optimization problem. The scaling factor F is varied randomly within some range and an auxiliary set is employed to enhance the diversity of the population. The newly generated trial vector is compared with the nearest parent. The simple feasibility rule is used to treat the constraints. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by solving some practical engineering problems. Finally, the method was applied to the robust design of a gas circuit breaker to increase the small current interruption performance.