A hybrid strategy for the quadratic assignment problem

Quadratic assignment problem is one of the classical NP- hard problems in combinatorial optimization field. A hybrid strategy for ant colony algorithm and Taboo search algorithm are proposed. Ant colony algorithm is good for finding the best local solution, whereas its global search depended on selection of the evaporation coefficient. Taboo search algorithm has a strong global search, and but its local search is susceptible to the effect of dispersion. To take full advantage of the advantages of these two algorithms, the paper uses a combination of the two algorithms. The experimental results show the proposed hybrid strategy is feasible and efficient.