A particle swarm ant colony optimization for truss structures with discrete variables

In this paper, a particle swarm optimizer with passive congregation (PSOPC), ant colony optimization (ACO) and harmony search scheme (HS) are combined to reach to an efficient algorithm, called discrete heuristic particle swarm ant colony optimization (DHPSACO). This method is then employed to optimize truss structures with discrete variables. The DHPSACO applies a PSOPC for global optimization and the ant colony approach for local search, similar to its continuous version. The problem-specific constraints are handled using a modified feasible-based mechanism, and the harmony search scheme is employed to deal with variable constraints. Some design examples are tested using the new method and their results are compared to those of PSO, PSOPC and HPSO algorithms to demonstrate the effectiveness of the present method.