Constructing uniform design tables based on restart discrete dynamical evolutionary algorithm

Generating uniform design tables (UDTs) is the first step to experimenting efficiently and effectively, and is also one of the most critical steps. Thus, the construction of uniform design tables has received much attention over the past decades. This paper presents a new algorithm for constructing uniform design tables: restart discrete dynamical evolutionary algorithm (RDDE). This algorithm is based on a well-designed dynamical evolutionary algorithm and utilizes discrete rounding technology to convert continuous variables into discrete variables. Considering the optimization of UDT is a multi-objective optimization problem, RDDE uses Friedman rank to select the optimal solution with better comprehensive comparison ranking. RDDE also utilizes a simulated annealing-based restart technology to select control parameters, thereby increasing the algorithm's ability to jump out of local optima. Comparisons with state-of-the-art UDTs and two practical engineering examples are presented to verify the uniformity of the design table constructed by RDDE. Numerical results indicate that RDDE can indeed construct UDTs with excellent uniformity at different levels, factors, and runs. Especially, RDDE can flexibly construct UDTs with unequal intervals of factors that cannot be directly processed by other designs of experiment.