These optimisation techniques depend on the idea of neighbourhood search and there is no mathematical model of the system involved. Heuristic techniques seek near optimal solutions without being able to guarantee either feasibility or optimality of the solution [57]. The principles of heuristic techniques are easy to understand, implement and use. The heuristic optimisation is very popular in applications. Every method uses a different search rule of finding optimal or near optimal solutions. The space of all feasible solutions is called the search space. Each and every point in the search space represents one possible solution. Therefore each possible solution is represented by one point in the search space. In effect, this technique searches through the solution space and moves in the direction of a known solution until a suitable solution is found or time bound is elapsed.
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Many stochastic algorithms have been developed in recent years to address optimisation problems. The most popular algorithms are:
Genetic Algorithms (GA)
Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO) Simulated Annealing (SA)
Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) Tabu Search (TS)
Bacterial Forging Optimisation (BFO)
Many researchers have used these techniques; Zakaria [16] has used SA algorithm for induction machine fault detection. Ethny [58] has also used PSO and compare it with SA and BFO algorithms for induction machine fault identification. A tabu search algorithm has been used by Montane [59] for the vehicle routing problem. Cai [60] is applied GA for speed estimation of induction motor. In this study, GA, TS and SA algorithms were used because they are some of the most widely used algorithms and have proven to be very effective and robust in a wide range of applications. A brief description of the three algorithms used in this thesis is presented in the following subsection,
2.3.4.1 Tabu search
Tabu Search (TS) is a new a stochastic optimisation procedure and has traditionally been used for optimisation problems [61]. TS has the power to avoid being trapped in local minima by using a tabu list. This tabu list constitutes the short-term memory which records any repeated solutions as a forbidden move. At each iteration, a set of candidate moves is extracted from the neighbourhood for evaluation and the best move is selected as a new solution. If the new solution is not tabu, it is accepted as a current solution, even if it is not a better solution. The tabu list is then updated with a new set of solutions. The advanced mechanisms of TS include the uses of intensification and diversification; by using the intensification mechanism, the algorithm does a more comprehensive exploration of attractive regions which may direct it to a local optimal point and by using the diversification mechanism, the
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search is moved to previously unvisited regions to avoid cycling. This process of TS continues until the stopping criterion has been reached whereby the determined optimal solution for that specific problem is selected.
2.3.4.2 Genetic Algorithm
Genetic algorithm (GA) is a stochastic search technique inspired by the mechanism of evolution, and natural selection. GA is successful at avoiding local minima and has been proven to be effective in solving difficult combinatorial optimisation problems. Traditional optimisation techniques use a single candidate and use repeated search techniques. However, the GA approach searches a population of candidates across several areas of a solution space simultaneously. The population consists of individuals or chromosomes which can be represented by strings of real or binary numbers. This population represents points in the solution space. The chromosomes evolve through successive iterations called generations. A new set of solutions, called offsprings, are created in a new generation. The basic operators in GA are selection, crossover and mutation. During each generation, the individuals are evaluated according to their objective and fitness functions. Following several generations, the algorithm then converges to the best chromosome that represents the optimal or near optimal to the problem.
2.3.4.3 Simulated Annealing
Simulated annealing (SA) is an optimisation technique which has been widely used in large combinatorial optimisation problems. SA mimics the annealing process for crystalline solids. The annealing process starts with melting the solid by heat treatment and slowly decreasing the annealing temperature. The SA algorithm views the cost function being minimised as equivalent to the energy state of a physical system, and the process of reaching equilibrium is equivalent to repeatedly accepting or rejecting changes in energy from one state to another. The algorithm starts from a randomly generated initial point and simulates a walk through the solution space; a candidate configuration is accepted if its cost is less than the current configuration,
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while deteriorating steps are only accepted with a certain probability. As the temperature parameter is decreasing, the algorithm accepting only good solutions until converges to a solution very close to optimality [62].
2.4 Summary
The most prevalent faults in induction motors are described in this chapter. The use of electric motors is becoming ever more common in various industries, resulting in an increased demand for fault detection methods. This chapter has provided a general review of existing induction motor fault detection methods. Relevant information about stochastic search algorithms used in this study has also been presented. In the next chapter, the three stochastic algorithms (Genetic Algorithms, Tabu Search and Simulated Annealing) will be explained in more details.
CHAPTER-3 Stochastic optimisation algorithms