Simple Optimization Algorithm for Design of a Uniform Column

Traditional methods for solving constrained optimization problems are not robust enough to get the solution in reasonable computational time. They have drawback of getting stuck in local optima. To overcome these problems meta-heuristic techniques are now widely used. This paper introduces simple optimization algorithm (SOPT), a meta-heuristic technique for solving constrained optimization problems. To handle the constraints, a constraint fitness priority-based ranking method is included in the algorithm. SOPT algorithm for constraint optimization is coded in MATLAB and applied to design a uniform column for minimum design cost. Result obtained is compared with the result obtained by another important meta-heuristic algorithm called cuckoo search (CS) algorithm.