Cultural Algorithm Based Constrained Optimization for Economic Load Dispatch of Units Considering Different Effects
Bidishna Bhattacharya1, Kamal K. Mandal2, Niladri Chakravorty3

1B. Bhattacharya is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Techno India, Saltlake, Kolkata-700091, India.
2K. K. Mandal is with the Power Engg. Dept.of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
3N. Chakraborty is with the Power Engg. Dept. of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.

Manuscript received on April 15, 2012. | Revised Manuscript received on April 20, 2012. | Manuscript published on May 05, 2012. | PP: 45-50 | Volume-2 Issue-2, May 2012 . | Retrieval Number: B0505032212/2012©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: This paper introduces an efficient evolutionary programming based approach of cultural algorithm which is a probabilistic optimum search method using genetics and evolution theory to solve different economic load dispatch problems. The proposed algorithm is a powerful population-based algorithm in the field of evolutionary computation which can efficiently search and actively explore solutions. Also it may be employed to handle the equality and inequality constraints of the ELD problems. The salient features of its knowledge space make the proposed cultural algorithm attractive in large-scale highly constrained nonlinear and complex systems. In this paper cultural algorithm combines with evolutionary programming technique to take care of economic dispatch problem involving constraints like power balance constraints, generator limit constraints, valve point loading effect, ramp rate limits, prohibited operating zone, and transmission losses etc because of cultural algorithm’s flexibility. The effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method is tested with one example of thirteen generator system considering valve point effect and one example of three generator system considering ramp rate limits, prohibited operating zone and transmission losses. Additionally the proposed algorithm was compared with other evolutionary methods like particle swarm optimization technique, genetic algorithm, evolutionary programming etc. It is seen that the proposed method can produce comparable results.

Keywords: Cultural algorithm, cultural based evolutionary algorithm, evolutionary programming, ELD, prohibited operating zone, ramp rate limits, valve-point loading.