Optimal control solving of heat transfer system by applying a hybrid genetic algorithm

This paper studies the optimal control solving problem of a heat transfer system by using a hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA). HGA is a kind of GA in which the position displacement idea of the particle swarm optimization (PSO) is applied to change the mutation operation rule and can be applied to solving mathematical optimization problems. To realize it in optimal control solving problem of a heat transfer system, one must turn the problem to be an optimization. Thus the performance index and governed partial differential equations are discretized in time and spatial variables by using a finite-difference method. The finite time horizon is divided into several intervals and the optimal control law is assumed to be a piecewise-constant function in each interval which is regarded as the gene of the proposed algorithm. After some iterative steps, the optimal control can be obtained. Finally the simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.