Multimodal Optimization of Permutation Flow-Shop Scheduling Problems Using a Clustering-Genetic-Algorithm-Based Approach

Though many techniques were proposed for the optimization of Permutation Flow-Shop Scheduling Problem (PFSSP), current techniques only provide a single optimal schedule. Therefore, a new algorithm is proposed, by combining the k-means clustering algorithm and Genetic Algorithm (GA), for the multimodal optimization of PFSSP. In the proposed algorithm, the k-means clustering algorithm is first utilized to cluster the individuals of every generation into different clusters, based on some machine-sequence-related features. Next, the operators of GA are applied to the individuals belonging to the same cluster to find multiple global optima. Unlike standard GA, where all individuals belong to the same cluster, in the proposed approach, these are split into multiple clusters and the crossover operator is restricted to the individuals belonging to the same cluster. Doing so, enabled the proposed algorithm to potentially find multiple global optima in each cluster. The performance of the proposed algorithm was evaluated by its application to the multimodal optimization of benchmark PFSSP. The results obtained were also compared to the results obtained when other niching techniques such as clearing method, sharing fitness, and a hybrid of the proposed approach and sharing fitness were used. The results of the case studies showed that the proposed algorithm was able to consistently converge to better optimal solutions than the other three algorithms.