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Ant Lion Optimization for Optimum Power
Generation with valve point effects
Shivani Mehta1, Meenakshi Mahendru Nischal2
1
Assistant Professor, DAVIET, Jalandhar, 2M.Tech Student, DAVIET, Jalandhar

Abstract-This paper presents Ant lion optimization (ALO) technique to solve Optimum Power Generation problem. Ant lion
optimization (ALO) is a novel nature inspired algorithm. The ALO algorithm mimics the hunting mechanism of antlions in
nature. Five main steps of hunting prey such as the random walk of ants, building traps, entrapment of ants in traps, catching
preys, and re-building traps are implemented. Optimum Power Generation is a method of determining the most efficient, low-cost
and reliable operation of a power system by dispatching available electric generation resources to supply load on the system. The
primary objective of is to minimize total cost of generation while honoring operational constraints of available generation
resources. The proposed technique is implemented on13 & 40 unit test system for solving the . Numerical results show that the
proposed method has good convergence property and better in quality of solution than other algorithms reported in recent
literature.
Keywords—ALO; Optimum Generation Scheduling; transmission loss
Nomenclature:
ai, bi, ci : fuel cost coefficient of ith generator, Rs/MW2 h, Rs/MW h, Rs/h
F(Pg ) : total fuel cost, Rs/h
n : number of generators
: Minimum generation limit of ith generator, MW
: Maximum generation limit of ith generator, MW
Pl : Transmission losses, MW
Pd : Power demand, MW

I. INTRODUCTION

Electrical power plays a pivotal role in the modern world to satisfy various needs. It is therefore very important that the electrical
power generated is transmitted and distributed efficiently in order to satisfy the power requirement. Optimum power generation
problem is the most significant problem of optimization in forecasting the generation amongst thermal generating units in power
system. The OGS problem is to plan the output power for each devoted generating unit such that the cost of operation is minimized
along with matching power operating limits, load demand and fulfilling diverse system limitations. The operating cost of a power
plant mainly depends on the fuel cost of generators and is minimized via optimum power generation. Optimum Power Generation
problem can be defined as determining the least cost power generation schedule from a set of on line generating units to meet the
total power demand at a given point of time [1]. The main objective of problem is to decrease fuel cost of generators, while
satisfying equality and inequality constraints. In this problem, fuel cost of generation is represented as cost curves and overall
calculation minimizes the operating cost by finding a point where total output of generators equals total power that must be
delivered plus losses. In the past years many meta-heuristic techniques such as Genetic algorithm [2,3], Tabu search
[4],Evolutionary programming (EP) techniques [5], Differential evolution [6] , particle swarm optimization (PSO) [7-
10],gravitational search algorithm (GSA) [11] ,Biogeography based optimization[12], Seeker optimization algorithm [13],Firefly
algorithm [14],Simulated annealing (SA)[15],Harmony search[16,17],Shuffled frog leaping algorithm(SFLA) [18],Hybrid genetic
algorithm(HGA) [19],Binary bat algorithm[20] etc. have been used to solve ELD with valve loading effect.

II. PROBLEM FORMULATION

The objective function to be minimized for economic load dispatch with valve point effects is given by:

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www.ijraset.com Volume 3 Issue X, October 2015
IC Value: 13.98 ISSN: 2321-9653
International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering
Technology (IJRASET)
n
F (Pg )  (ai Pgi2  bi Pgi  ci )  di sin(ei (Pgimin  Pgi )) …….. (1)
i 1

where fuel-cost coefficient’s of the ith unit are ai , bi, and ci, and di & ei are the fuel-cost coefficient’s of the ith unit with valve-point
effects[5].

The total fuel cost has to be minimized with the following constraints:

A. Power Balance Constraint

The sum of power demand (Pd) and power loss ( ) should be equal to power generation (Pgi).

∑ − − ….. (2)

The power loss Pl calculated by:

=∑ ∑ +∑ + .… (3)

B. Generator Limit Constraint

Each generator’s real power generation is to be controlled within its respective lower operating limits and upper operating
limits .

≤ ≤ i=1,2,...,ng …..(4)

Fig. 2.1 The valve-point effect

III. ANT LION OPTIMIZATION

Ant Lion Optimizer (ALO)[21] is a novel nature-inspired algorithm proposed by Seyedali Mirjalili in 2015.The ALO algorithm
copies the hunting mechanism of ant lions in nature. Five main stages of killing kill such as the arbitrary walk of ants construction
trap setup of ants in traps, catch victims, and re-building traps are implemented.
Ant lions (doodlebugs) belong to class of net winged insects. The lifecycle of ant lions includes two main phases: larvae and adult.
A natural total lifespan can take up to 3 years, which mostly occurs in larvae (only 3–5 weeks for adulthood). Ant lions undergo
metamorphosis in a cocoon to become adult. They mostly hunt in larvae and the adulthood period is for reproduction. An ant lion
larvae digs a cone-shaped pit in sand by moving along a circular path and throwing out sands with its massive jaw.After digging the
trap, the larvae hides underneath the bottom of the cone and waits for insects (preferably ant) to be trapped in the pit. The edge of
the cone is sharp enough for insects to fall to the bottom of the trap easily.
Once the ant lion realizes that a prey is in the trap, it tries to catch it.[21]

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IC Value: 13.98 ISSN: 2321-9653
International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering
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Random walks of ants: Random walks are all based on the Eq. below :

( ) = [0, (2 ( ) − 1), (2 ( ) − 1), … … . . , (2 ( ) − 1)] ……(5)

Where cumsum calculates the cumulative sum, n is the maximum number of iteration, t shows the step of random walk and r(t) is a
stochastic function defined as follows:
1 > 0.5
( )= ……(6)
0 ≤ 0.5
however, above Eq. cannot be directly used for updating position of ants. In order to keep the random walks inside the search
space, they are normalized using the following equation (min–max normalization):
( )×( )
= ( )
+ ……(7)

Where ai is the minimum of random walk of ithvariable, bi is the maximum of random walk in ithvariable, is the minimum of
ithvariable at tth iteration, and indicates the maximum of ith variable at tth iteration
Trapping in ant lion's pits: random walks of ants are affected by antlions’ traps. In order to mathematically model this assumption,
the following equations are proposed:
= + ….(8)
= + …(9)
where is the minimum of all variables at tth iteration, indicates the vector including the maximum of all variables at tth
iteration, is the minimum of all variables for ith ant, is the maximum of all variables for ithant, and Antliont j shows the
position of the selected j-th antlion at tthiteration
Building trap:In order to model the ant-lions’s hunting capability, a roulette wheel is employed. The ALO algorithm is required to
utilize a roulette wheel operator for selecting ant lions based of their fitness during optimization. This mechanism gives high
chances to the fitter ant lions for catching ants.
Sliding ants towards ant lion:With the mechanisms proposed so far, ant lions are able to build traps proportional to their fitness and
ants are required to move randomly. However, ant lions shoot sands outwards the center of the pit once they realize that an ant is in
the trap. This behavior slides down the trapped ant that is trying to escape. For mathematically modelling this behavior, the radius
of ants' random walks hyper-sphere is decreased adaptively. The following equations are proposed in this regard:
= …(10)

= …(11)
where I is a ratio, ct is the minimum of all variables at t-th iteration, and dt indicates the vector including the maximum of all
variables at t-th iteration.
Catching prey and re-building the pit:The final stage of hunt is when an ant reaches the bottom of the pit and is caught in the
antlion’s jaw. After this stage, the antlion pulls the ant inside the sand and consumes its body. For mimicking this process, it is
assumed that catching prey occur when ants becomes fitter (goes inside sand) than its corresponding antlion. An antlion is then
required to update its position to the latest position of the hunted ant to enhance its chance of catching new prey. The following
equation is proposed in this regard:
= ( )> …(12)
where t shows the current iteration, Antliont j shows the position of selected j-th antlion at t-th iteration, and Antti indicates the
position of i-th ant at t-th iteration.
Elitism: Elitism is an important characteristic of evolutionary algorithms that allows them to maintain the best solution(s) obtained
at any stage of optimization process. Since the elite is the fittest antlion, it should be able to affect the movements of all the ants
during iterations. Therefore, it is assumed that every ant randomly walks around a selected antlion by the roulette wheel and the
elite simultaneously as follows:
= … (13)
where is the random walk around the antlion selected by the roulette wheel at t-th iteration, is the random walk around the

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www.ijraset.com Volume 3 Issue X, October 2015
IC Value: 13.98 ISSN: 2321-9653
International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering
Technology (IJRASET)
elite at t-th iteration, and indicates the position of i-th ant at t-th iteration

IV. RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS

ALO has been used to solve the problems in three different test cases for exploring its optimization potential, where the objective
function was limited within power ranges of the generating units and transmission losses were also taken into account.
The iterations performed for each test case are 2000 and number of search agents (population) taken in both test cases is 40.

A. Test system I: Thirteen generating units

The input data for Test case I (13-UNIT CASE)with Valve point loading. a, b, c, e, and f are cost coefficients in fuel cost [5]. The
economic load dispatch for 13 generators system is solved with power demand of 1800 MW.
The minimum cost, mean cost and maximum cost among 50 runs of solutions obtained from ALO for test system 1 is given in table
4.1 and bar chart is plotted in fig 4.2.

Table 4.1: Comparison results of ALO for 13-Unit system

B. Test system II: Forty generating unit

The input data for Test caseII (40-UNIT CASE) with Valve point loading. a, b, c, e, and f are cost coefficients in fuel cost. [5] The
economic load dispatch for 40 generators is solved with 10,500 MW power demand. The minimum cost, mean cost and maximum
cost among 50 runs of solutions obtained from ALO for test system 2 is given in table 4.2 below.

Table 4.2: Comparison results of ALO for 40-Unit system

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IC Value: 13.98 ISSN: 2321-9653
International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering
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The comparison of the results obtained with ALO for 40 units is shown in table 4.2 and bar chart is plotted in fig 4.3

18600
18400
18200
18000 Minimum Cost($)
17800
Mean Cost($)
17600
Maximum Cost($)
17400
17200
17000
CEP[5] FEP[5] MFEP[5] IFEP[5] PSO[8] ALO

Fig. 4.2: Comparison chart showing the minimum, mean and maximum cost for 13 generators with different algorithms

128000
127000
126000
125000
124000 Minimum Cost($)
123000 Mean Cost($)
122000
Maximum Cost($)
121000
120000

Fig-4.3: Comparison chart showing the minimum, mean and maximum cost for 40 generators with different algorithms

V. CONCLUSION

In this paper Optimum Power Generation problem has been solved by using ALO. The results of ALO are compared for thirteen &
forty generating unit systems with other techniques. The algorithm is programmed in MATLAB(R2009b) software package. The
results display efficacy of ALO algorithm for solving the Optimum Power Generation problem. The advantage of ALO algorithm is
its simplicity, reliability and efficiency for practical applications.

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IC Value: 13.98 ISSN: 2321-9653
International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering
Technology (IJRASET)
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