Evolutionary biogeography-based whale optimization methods with communication structure: Towards measuring the balance

Abstract Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) is a popular swarm-based algorithm with some spotted defects in its generated patterns during the searching phases. In this study, an enhanced WOA-based method is proposed in order to overcome the drawbacks of slow convergence speed and easy falling of WOA into the local optimum. The designed variant is called enhanced WOA (EWOA), which combines two strategies at the same time. First, a new communication mechanism (CM) is embedded into the basic WOA to promote the global optimal search ability and the exploitation tendency of the WOA. Then, the Biogeography-based Optimization (BBO) algorithm is partially utilized to harmonize the exploration and exploitation trends. A representative set of comprehensive benchmark cases and three engineering cases are utilized to verify the advantages of the proposed EWOA. The experimental results show that the exploration ability, exploitation ability, state of the balance, and convergence style of the algorithm has been improved significantly. Based on results, the proposed EWOA is a promising and excellent algorithm, and it has achieved better solution quality and faster convergence rate compared with other most advanced algorithms.