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Differential evolution (DE) represents a class of population-based optimization techniques that uses differences of vectors to search for optimal solutions in the search space. However, promising solutions/ regions are not adequately exploited by a traditional DE algorithm. Memetic computing has been popular in recent years to enhance the exploitation of global algorithms via incorporation of local search. This paper proposes a new memetic framework to enhance DE algorithms using Alopex Local Search (MFDEALS). The novelty of the proposed MFDEALS framework lies in that the behavior of exploitation (by Alopex local search) can be controlled based on the DE global exploration status (population diversity and search stage). Additionally, an adaptive parameter inside the Alopex local search enables smooth transition of its behavior from exploratory to exploitative during the search process. A study of the important components of MFDEALS shows that there is a synergy between them. MFDEALS has been integrated with both the canonical DE method and the adaptive DE algorithm L-SHADE, leading to the MDEALS and ML-SHADEALS algorithms, respectively. Both algorithms were tested on the benchmark functions from the IEEE CEC'2014 Conference. The experiment results show that Memetic Differential Evolution with Alopex Local Search (MDEALS) not only improves the original DE algorithm but also outperforms other memetic DE algorithms by obtaining better quality solutions. Further, the comparison between ML-SHADEALS and L-SHADE demonstrates that applying the MFDEALS framework with Alopex local search can significantly enhance the performance of L-SHADE. 

Differential evolution has many mutation strategies which are problem dependent. Some Adaptive Differential Evolution techniques have been proposed tackling this problem. But therein all individuals are treated equally without taking into account how good these solutions are. In this paper, a new method called Ranked-based Mutation Adaptation (RAM) is proposed, which takes into consideration the ranking of an individual in the whole population. This method will assign different probabilities of choosing different mutation strategies to different groups in which the population is divided. RAM has been integrated into several well-known adaptive differential evolution algorithms and its performance has been tested on the benchmark suit proposed in CEC2014. The experimental results shows the use of RAM can produce generally better quality solutions than the original adaptive algorithms.

Differential evolution (DE) presents a class of evolutionary and meta-heuristic techniques that have been applied successfully to solve many real-world problems. However, the performance of DE is significantly influenced by its control parameters such as scaling factor and crossover probability. This paper proposes a new adaptive DE algorithm by greedy adjustment of the control parameters during the running of DE. The basic idea is to perform greedy search for better parameter assignments in successive learning periods in the whole evolutionary process. Within each learning period, the current parameter assignment and its neighboring assignments are tested (used) in a number of times to acquire a reliable assessment of their suitability in the stochastic environment with DE operations. Subsequently the current assignment is updated with the best candidate identified from the neighborhood and the search then moves on to the next learning period. This greedy parameter adjustment method has been incorporated into basic DE, leading to a new DE algorithm termed as Greedy Adaptive Differential Evolution (GADE). GADE has been tested on 25 benchmark functions in comparison with five other DE variants. The results of evaluation demonstrate that GADE is strongly competitive: it obtained the best rank among the counterparts in terms of the summation of relative errors across the benchmark functions with a high dimensionality.

Harmonic filtering has been widely applied to reduce harmonic distortion in power distribution systems. This paper investigates a new method of exploiting Differential Evolution (DE) to support the optimal design of harmonic filters. DE is a class of stochastic and population-based optimization algorithms that are expected to have stronger global ability than trajectory-based optimization techniques in locating the best component sizes for filters. However, the performance of DE is largely affected by its two control parameters: scaling factor and crossover rate, which are problem dependent. How to decide appropriate setting for these two parameters presents a practical difficulty in real applications. Greedy Adaptive Differential Evolution (GADE) algorithm is suggested in the paper as a more convenient and effective means to automatically optimize filter designs. GADE is attractive in that it does not require proper setting of the scaling factor and crossover rate prior to the running of the program. Instead it enables dynamic adjustment of the DE parameters during the course of search for performance improvement. The results of tests on several problem examples have demonstrated that the use of GADE leads to the discovery of better filter circuits facilitating less harmonic distortion than the basic DE method.

Differential evolution (DE) presents a class of evolutionary computing techniques that appear effective to handle real parameter optimization tasks in many practical applications. However, the performance of DE is not always perfect to ensure fast convergence to the global optimum. It can easily get stagnation resulting in low precision of acquired results or even failure. This paper proposes a new memetic DE algorithm by incorporating Eager Random Search (ERS) to enhance the performance of a basic DE algorithm. ERS is a local search method that is eager to replace the current solution by a better candidate in the neighborhood. Three concrete local search strategies for ERS are further introduced and discussed, leading to variants of the proposed memetic DE algorithm. In addition, only a small subset of randomly selected variables is used in each step of the local search for randomly deciding the next trial solution. The results of tests on a set of benchmark problems have demonstrated that the hybridization of DE with Eager Random Search can substantially augment DE algorithms to find better or more precise solutions while not requiring extra computing resources.