A Hybrid of Firefly and Biogeography-Based Optimization Algorithms for Optimal Design of Steel Frames

The principle purpose of the current study is to hybridize firefly algorithm (FA) as a nature-inspired meta-heuristic developed based on the flashing patterns and biogeography-based optimization (BBO) to present a qualified algorithm in the case of optimization of steel frame (SF) structures. In the proposed meta-heuristic algorithm, FA works as a global search engine while BBO achieves the local search task. The proposed algorithm is termed as a firefly algorithm-biogeography-based optimization (FA-BBO). FA-BBO algorithm was employed for the optimization of benchmark SF problems for the validity in the case of a new algorithm. The numerical outputs demonstrate that the new FA-BBO algorithm presents a better computational performance in the comparison of the current algorithms.