The Solar System Algorithm: A Novel Metaheuristic Method for Global Optimization

A novel metaheuristic algorithm for global optimization, called the Solar System Algorithm (SSA), is presented. The proposed algorithm imitates the orbiting behavior of some objects found in the solar system: i.e., Sun, planets, moons, stars, and black holes. SSA is used to solve five well-known engineering design problems: three-bar truss, pressure vessel, tension/compression spring, welded beam, and gear train. The obtained results are compared to 16 state-of-the-art metaheuristic algorithms. They show that SSA is very competitive in solving the considered engineering problems. In addition, the performance of SSA is evaluated on the benchmarks CEC 2014 and CEC 2020. The experimental results are compared to 27 (12 for CEC 2014 and 15 for CEC 2020) metaheuristic algorithms. They demonstrate that SSA is very promising in finding efficient solutions.