Open Access

ARTICLE

A Cooperated Imperialist Competitive Algorithm for Unrelated Parallel Batch Machine Scheduling Problem

Deming Lei^*, Heen Li

College of Automation, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China

* Corresponding Author: Deming Lei. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Metaheuristic-Driven Optimization Algorithms: Methods and Applications)

Computers, Materials & Continua 2024, 79(2), 1855-1874. https://doi.org/10.32604/cmc.2024.049480

Received 09 January 2024; Accepted 29 March 2024; Issue published 15 May 2024

Abstract

This study focuses on the scheduling problem of unrelated parallel batch processing machines (BPM) with release times, a scenario derived from the moulding process in a foundry. In this process, a batch is initially formed, placed in a sandbox, and then the sandbox is positioned on a BPM for moulding. The complexity of the scheduling problem increases due to the consideration of BPM capacity and sandbox volume. To minimize the makespan, a new cooperated imperialist competitive algorithm (CICA) is introduced. In CICA, the number of empires is not a parameter, and four empires are maintained throughout the search process. Two types of assimilations are achieved: The strongest and weakest empires cooperate in their assimilation, while the remaining two empires, having a close normalization total cost, combine in their assimilation. A new form of imperialist competition is proposed to prevent insufficient competition, and the unique features of the problem are effectively utilized. Computational experiments are conducted across several instances, and a significant amount of experimental results show that the new strategies of CICA are effective, indicating promising advantages for the considered BPM scheduling problems.

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Keywords

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