Solving the p-median problem by a simple differential evolution

Differential evolution is a real-parameter metaheuristic optimization method with a history of successful applications in many different domains. The p-median problem is a well-known combinatorial optimization problem with several possible formulations and many practical applications in areas such as operational research and planning. It has been also used as a testbed for various heuristic and metaheuristic optimization algorithms. This work uses a simple variant of the differential evolution to solve the p-median problem and evaluates the efficiency of this method in a series of computational experiments.