An improved hybrid membrane algorithm based on hormone modulation mechanism for engineering design problems

Constrained optimization problems are critical in optimization research owing to their prevalence in various fields such as engineering, management science, and economics. In this study, we develop an improved hybrid membrane algorithm based on the hormone modulation mechanism (IHMA-HMM), which combines differential evolution algorithm with the dynamic membrane structure of cell-like P systems, for constrained engineering design problems. In the IHMA-HMM, hormone modulation mechanism is developed to adjust the membrane structure in an adaptive manner. Experiments on 24 benchmark test functions and five well-known engineering design problems show that the proposed IHMA-HMM is capable of balancing exploration and exploitation well, and is competitive with other state-of-the-art algorithms.