Dynamic search space squeezing strategy based intelligent algorithm solutions to economic dispatch with multiple fuels

This paper presents a new approach to the solution of optimal power generation for economic dispatch (ED) using improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) technique. In this paper an improved PSO technique is suggested that deals with equality and inequality constraints in ED problems. A constraint treatment mechanism called dynamic search space squeezing strategy is devised to accelerate the optimization process and simultaneously the dynamic process inherent in the conventional PSO algorithm is preserved. The application and statistical performance of various intelligent algorithms such as differential evolution (DE), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) are considered on economic dispatch problems with non-smooth cost functions considering valve point effects and multiple fuel options. To determine the efficiency and effectiveness of various intelligent algorithms, three experiments are conducted considering only multiple fuel options, considering both valve-point and multiple fuel options and also taking into account the valve point loadings, ramp rate limits and prohibited operating zones. The simulation results reveal that the proposed IPSO has provided the better solution with a very high probability to demonstrate its robustness over other intelligent techniques such as DE, PSO and improved genetic algorithm with multiplier updating (IGA_MU), ant colony optimization (ACO), artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC), hybrid swarm intelligent based harmony search algorithm (HHS) and fuzzy adaptive chaotic ant swarm optimization (FCASO). The proposed IPSO ensures convergence within least execution time and provides quality solutions as compared to earlier reported best results. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.