Levy Flight and Chaos Theory-Based Gravitational Search Algorithm for Global Optimization: LCGSA for Global Optimization

The gravitational search algorithm (GSA) is one of the highly regarded population-based algorithms. It has been reported that GSA has a powerful global exploration capability but suffers from the limitations of getting stuck in local optima and slow convergence speed. In order to resolve the aforementioned issues, a modified version of GSA has been proposed based on Levy flight distribution and chaotic maps (LCGSA). In LCGSA, the diversification is performed by utilizing the high step size value of Levy flight distribution while exploitation is carried out by chaotic maps. The LCGSA is tested on 23 well-known classical benchmark functions. Moreover, it is also applied to three constrained engineering design problems. Furthermore, the analysis of results is performed through various performance metrics like statistical measures, convergence rate, and so on. Also, a signed Wilcoxon rank-sum test has been conducted. The simulation results indicate that LCGSA provides better results as compared to standard GSA and most of the competing algorithms.