Differential Evolution Algorithm for the Earliness/Tardiness Hybrid Flow-shop Scheduling Problem

In this paper, DE algorithm is presented to solve the earliness tardiness (E/T) hybrid flow-shop scheduling problem (HFSP). The mathematical model of E/T based on DE is constructed and the key application steps in DE are also discussed in detail. In the implement process of the method, DE is used to take global optimization and find which machine the jobs should be assigned on in each stage, which is also called the process route of the job; then the local assignment rules are used to determine the job's starting time in each stage, and on the premise of satisfying the expectation completion time, the sum of earliness and tardiness penalties should be the minimum. Finally, simulation result shows the effectiveness of the method presented in this paper.