An efficient metaheuristic optimization approach to the problem of PID tuning for automatic voltage regulator systems

PID controllers are widely used in industry because of their remarkable effectiveness and simplicity of implementation. The PID parameters can smartly be tuned using random search optimization algorithms. This article aims to introduce a high-accuracy and high-speed-of-convergence Vector-Based Swarm Optimization (VBSO) algorithm, which is able to suitably orient solutions towards global optimum. To demonstrate its effectiveness, the VBSO is applied to two set of case studies: benchmark functions and Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) systems. By applying it to 12 well-known benchmark functions with different degrees of complexity. it is shown that the VBSO performs faster and more accurately than PSO and pPSA algorithms. Moreover, the VBSO is applied to the problem of tuning PID parameters for AVR systems. Considering several objective functions used in different research works, simulation results confirm that the proposed PID controllers perform better than those given by PSO, APSO, DE, MOL, and ABC algorithms.