Tuning of different controlling techniques for magnetic suspending system using an improved bat algorithm

In this paper, design of proportional- derivative (PD) controller, pseudo-derivative-feedback (PDF) controller and PDF with feedforward (PDFF) controller for magnetic suspending system have been presented. Tuning of the above controllers is achieved based on Bat algorithm (BA). BA is a recent bio-inspired optimization method for solving global optimization problems, which mimic the behavior of micro-Bats. The weak point of the standard BA is the exploration ability due to directional echolocation and the difficulty in escaping from local optimum. The new improved BA enhances the convergence rate while obtaining optimal solution by introducing three adaptations namely modified frequency factor, adding inertia weight and modified local search. The feasibility of the proposed algorithm is examined by applied to several benchmark problems that are adopted from literature. The results of IBA are compared with the results collected from standard BA and the well-known particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The simulation results show that the IBA has a higher accuracy and searching speed than the approaches considered. Finally, the tuning of the three controlling schemes using the proposed algorithm, standard BA and PSO algorithms reveals that IBA has a higher performance compared with the other optimization algorithms.