Investigation of Mutation Schemes in Real-Parameter Genetic Algorithms

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the effect of five different mutation schemes for real-parameter genetic algorithms (RGAs). Based on extensive simulation studies, it is observed that a mutation clock implementation is computationally quick and also efficient in finding a solution close to the optimum on four different problems used in this study. Moreover, parametric studies on the polynomial mutation operator identify a working range of values of these parameters. This study signifies that the long-suggested mutation clock operator should be considered as a valuable mutation operator for RGAs.