Optimization algorithms combining (meta)heuristics and mathematical programming and its application in engineering

• Main Authors: Rodríguez, Nibaldo, Gupta, Abhishek, Zabala, Paula L., Cabrera-Guerrero, Guillermo
• Other Authors: School of Computer Science and Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Computer science and engineering; Mathematical Programming; (Meta)heuristic Methods
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/81258; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/47466
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Complex optimization problems can be tackled by means of mathematical programming methods as well as by means of (meta)heuristic methods. On the one hand, mathematical programming methods give us a guarantee of optimality while (meta)heuristic methods do not. On the other hand, heuristic methods can handle large and complex optimization problems while mathematical programming methods tend to fail as the size of the optimization problem increases. Thus, it makes sense to combine these two strategies to obtain better solutions to the problem that is being addressed. During the last two decades or so, algorithms that either include mathematical programming solvers into (meta)heuristic frameworks or include (meta)heuristic concepts within mathematical programming methods have demonstrated to be very effective in solving large complex optimization problems. These hybrid algorithms are also called matheuristics. These kinds of algorithms have been successfully applied to a wide range of optimization problems arising in engineering. In this special issue, we aimed to highlight those new approaches that take advantage of the main features of both mathematical programming and heuristic algorithms to solve challenging optimization problems. We received 129 submissions from all around the world. From these, only 25 articles were accepted after a rigorous peer-reviewed process, that is, a 19% acceptance rate. In the following, we briefly introduce each paper and try to organise them based on their main focus.