Constrained Optimization with Evolutionary Algorithms : A Comprehensive Review

Global optimization is an essential part of any kind of system. Various algorithms have been proposed that try to imitate the learning and problem solving abilities of the nature up to certain level. The main idea of all nature-inspired algorithms is to generate an interconnected network of individuals, a population. Although most of unconstrained optimization problems can be easily handled with Evolutionary Algorithms (EA), constrained optimization problems (COPs) are very complex. In this paper, a comprehensive literature review will be presented which summarizes the constraint handling techniques for COPs.