Improved harmony search algorithm for global optimization

Harmony search (HS) algorithm, applied in many fields, is a new population algorithm, which imitates magically the phenomenon of musical improvisation process. However, it has a potential shortage, which is easily trapped into local optima when searching for global optima. To solve this problem, a hybrid harmony search algorithm (HHS) is promoted, which is based on the conception of swarm intelligence. HHS employed a local search method to replace the pitch adjusting operation, and designed an elitist preservation strategy to modify the selection operation. Experiment results demonstrated that the proposed method performs much better than the HS and its improved algorithms (IHS, GHS and NGHS).