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Article

The Application of the Improved Jellyfish Search Algorithm in a Site Selection Model of an Emergency Logistics Distribution Center Considering Time Satisfaction

School of Management Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Ma’anshan 243032, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Biomimetics 2023, 8(4), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8040349
Submission received: 11 July 2023 / Revised: 3 August 2023 / Accepted: 3 August 2023 / Published: 6 August 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Inspired Computer Algorithms: 2nd Edition)

Abstract

:
In an emergency situation, fast and efficient logistics and distribution are essential for minimizing the impact of a disaster and for safeguarding property. When selecting a distribution center location, time satisfaction needs to be considered, in addition to the general cost factor. The improved jellyfish search algorithm (CIJS), which simulates the bionics of jellyfish foraging, is applied to solve the problem of an emergency logistics and distribution center site selection model considering time satisfaction. The innovation of the CIJS is mainly reflected in two aspects. First, when initializing the population, the two-level logistic map method is used instead of the original logistic map method to improve the diversity and uniform distribution of the population. Second, in the jellyfish search process, a Cauchy strategy is introduced to determine the moving distance of internal motions, which improves the global search capability and prevents the search from falling into local optimal solutions. The superiority of the improved algorithm was verified by testing 20 benchmark functions and applying them to site selection problems of different dimensions. The performance of the CIJS was compared to that of heuristic algorithms through the iterative convergence graph of the algorithm. The experimental results show that the CIJS has higher solution accuracy and faster solution speed than PSO, the WOA, and JS.

1. Introduction

1.1. Logistics Development and Site Selection Study

With the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, the modern logistics industry has emerged as a vital sector in the national economy. In recent years, there have been numerous studies on logistics systems or supply chains, among which the famous ones are research on supply chain traceability [1,2] and in-depth research on the logistics of the Internet of Things [3], and research on green and sustainable logistics [4] has also gradually entered into scholars’ research horizons. In the supply chain, distribution is one of the important links. Similarly, as an important node in the logistics system, the distribution center is the link between the supply point and the end user, which has an important impact on the overall operation quality and efficiency of the logistics system. A reasonable choice of distribution center location can help enterprises to better control transportation costs, reduce logistics and distribution time, and improve distribution efficiency; thus, the site selection design and optimization scheme of distribution centers are particularly important.
Siting problems are an important branch of transportation problems in operations research and have received wide attention from scholars at home and abroad due to their scientific importance. The location of distribution centers is the optimization process of selecting a certain number of locations to set up a distribution center in a range with several supply points and several demand points [5]. The earliest research on this can be traced back to the Webber problem proposed in 1909: the problem achieves the goal of the shortest total transportation distance between the warehouse and customer by studying the problem of a single warehouse location on the plane [6], which is the beginning of the early siting problem. In the 21st century, various scholars have studied the distribution center location problem by using various traditional methods such as the center-of-gravity method [7,8,9,10] and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) [11,12,13,14]. However, traditional methods often have disadvantages such as large computational volume and low efficiency, which can bring some difficulties to the solution results. With the increase in the number of variables and constraints in research on siting problems, various new heuristics, such as particle swarm optimization (PSO), grey wolf optimization (GWO), the whale optimization algorithm (WOA), etc. [15,16,17,18,19], have been proposed by different scholars in recent years to solve the siting problem and conduct simulation studies. Although these heuristic algorithms have been well validated and applied in problem-solving, they often have disadvantages such as premature local convergence and poor robustness, which may lead to results with poor accuracy when solving large data models.
For this Np-hard problem, this paper utilizes the artificial jellyfish search algorithm (JS) which has good optimization performance to solve the model. JS is an excellent bionic algorithm based on the feeding behavior of jellyfish, which was proposed by Chou et al. in 2021 [20] and has been applied to solve various environmental problems such as soil structure modeling [21,22,23]. JS has the advantages of having only a few parameters and wide applicability, but it is prone to becoming trapped in local optima when solving large-scale models, leading to low precision of the solution. This paper aims to conduct an in-depth study on improving the population initialization method and the active motion search step size of JS, with the goal of enhancing the diversity of the population and the accuracy of the algorithm and strengthening the algorithm’s search ability beyond the local optima. The superiority of the improved algorithm will be verified through benchmark functions and algorithmic simulations.

1.2. Location of Emergency Facilities and Emergency Distribution Centers Study

With the continuous development of society, the occurrence of various emergencies (such as traffic accidents, natural disasters, etc.) may cause a distribution center to be unable to complete its assigned delivery task on time, thus affecting the normal operation of the logistics system [24]. In order to cope with such problems, such as ensuring the efficient transportation of emergency supplies to the battlefield in wartime [25] or ensuring the rapid delivery of disaster relief supplies to disaster areas [26], the key to such problems lies in the reasonable site selection and construction of emergency logistics distribution centers. The construction of emergency logistics distribution centers can not only shorten response and transportation times and reduce construction and operation costs, but it can also improve the emergency security capacity of the logistics system and promote economic prosperity and social stability [27]. The authors of [28] address the siting problem of an urban emergency logistics center, use microblogging big data to obtain data to carry out a risk assessment, establish an emergency logistics positioning model, and use the NSGA-III algorithm to solve and evaluate the siting scheme, and the experimental conclusions can provide empirical references for the city under study to cope with disasters due to rainstorms and floods. The authors of [29] take the emerging coronavirus pneumonia epidemic as the research background, establish a multi-objective mathematical model with the highest vehicle utilization rate and the lowest transportation costs for the study of the emergency material distribution problem, and propose a hybrid multi-inverse optimization algorithm for the experimental simulation, and the computational results provide a solution for the optimization of the distribution of emergency materials via vehicles to cope with the sudden outbreak of the epidemic. In addition, similar to the logistics distribution center of emergency facilities, the siting problem is also reflected in the subway fire emergency station siting, chemical park emergency supplies warehouse siting, and so on [30,31,32,33,34].
Compared with the ordinary site selection problem, the model of the emergency site selection problem is mainly characterized by the consideration of uncertainty conditions or the occurrence of random events and other factors such as constraints. The authors of [35] study the impact of random price factors on cost changes and establish an extended model under the condition of cost uncertainty, and the solution results are favorable to making good choices for the supplier location in the supply chain. There are also many scholars in the field of demand uncertainty who have worked to establish a site selection model and to solve it to verify the reliability of the model [36,37,38]. In addition, some scholars have quantified qualitative factors such as customer satisfaction or overall satisfaction and integrated them into the model to consider the various constraints that may have an impact, and the results of these studies have provided new program references for the location of emergency facilities [39,40]. However, regarding the direction of the consideration of time factor constraints, at this stage, there are a number of studies that consider the time window of the siting problem [41,42], but fewer studies have introduced time satisfaction into the siting of emergency logistics and distribution centers. In this paper, we will introduce time satisfaction to establish a target-planning model based on the consideration of cost uncertainty in the problem of siting emergency facilities, so as to rationally allocate resources and improve the reliability and risk resistance of emergency facilities.

2. Model Design

2.1. Model Assumptions

There are often emergency transportation situations in logistics and the demand for emergency materials is increasing, and emergency distribution centers play an important role in providing timely and effective services. The reasonableness of the location of an emergency distribution center directly affects the rapid response and timely distribution of emergency materials. As shown in Figure 1, the location of an emergency distribution center is based on the original demand points in the region, focusing on transportation costs and time satisfaction factors to select several of them as emergency distribution centers, which will provide follow-up transportation services for other demand points, aiming to ensure logistics transportation after emergencies arise. The logistics nodes set up for efficiency stability, based on the above problem in the model construction, made the following assumptions:
  • All transported materials are of a single type and the volume of goods is measured in weight;
  • The transportation volume is proportional to the transportation cost, and the transportation rate is certain and known;
  • A distribution center can serve multiple demand points, and a single demand point is served by only one distribution center;
  • The quantity demanded at each demand point is certain and known;
  • The materials at each demand point are transported all at once, and the load of the distribution center transportation vehicles can meet all the demands of the responsible demand point.

2.2. Model Components

2.2.1. Fixed Costs Component

Fixed costs mainly include construction costs for expanding or rebuilding the original demand point as an emergency distribution center, as well as the daily maintenance costs of the emergency distribution center and other fixed costs.
Using Cj to denote the fixed cost of distribution center j, the fixed cost incurred by setting up emergency distribution center j is expressed as follows:
F 1 = j = 1 n C j x i j
where xij is a 0–1 variable, and, when xij = 1, this indicates that j is selected as the emergency distribution center responsible for emergency transportation at demand point I; otherwise, xij = 0.

2.2.2. Variable Cost Component

The variable cost is mainly the transportation cost generated from the emergency distribution center to the demand point, and the transportation cost is mainly calculated by using the transportation rate, transportation distance, and transportation volume; then, the transportation cost from distribution center j to demand point i is expressed as follows:
F 2 = i = 1 m j = 1 n α X i d i j x i j
where α is the transportation rate, Xi denotes the demand at demand point i, and dij denotes the distance of demand point i from the nearest distribution center j.

2.2.3. Time Satisfaction

The biggest difference between an emergency distribution center and an ordinary distribution center is the efficiency of logistics transportation. Since emergency distribution centers need to organize logistics transportation in a short time to cope with emergencies, their operation efficiency is required to be higher. Therefore, this paper reflects the models’ transportation efficiency from the perspective of transportation time between different demand points by constructing a time satisfaction function. Based on the above considerations, this paper introduces a uniform distribution to construct the satisfaction function as shown below:
F 3 = i = 1 m j = 1 n X i f ( t i j ) x i j
f ( t i j ) = 1 , t i j L U t i j U L , L < t i j < U 0 , t i j U
U t i j = d 2 d i j v , U L = d 2 d 1 v
where f(tij) is a uniform distribution function, d2 is the transport distance in the unsatisfactory case, d1 is the transport distance in the satisfactory case, dij is the transport distance from demand point i to distribution center j, and v is the transport speed.

2.3. Model Construction

With the above considerations, the objective function of the emergency distribution center site selection model is constructed as follows:
min f F 1 , F 2 , F 3 = w · min F 1 + min F 2 + 1 w · max F 3
i.e.,
min f F 1 , F 2 , F 3 = w · F 1 + F 2 + 1 w · F 3 1
The constraints are as follows:
i = 1 m X i M j
X i N j
X i 0 , d i j 0 , z i j x j
Equation (1) is the minimization of the objective function, where w denotes the weighting factor and 0 ≤ w ≤ 1.
Equation (2) indicates that the sum of the demands of the demand points served by each distribution center must not exceed the maximum capacity of that distribution center.
Equation (3) indicates that the capacity of distribution center j should meet the demand of demand point i served.
Equation (4) indicates that each demand point corresponds to a unique emergency distribution center and restricts the variables to the delimited area.

3. Algorithm Design

3.1. Standard Artificial Jellyfish Search Algorithm

Jellyfish live in water at different depths and temperatures around the world. They can move on their own, but in most cases they rely on ocean currents and tides to move. When favorable conditions arise, jellyfish gather in swarms and form jellyfish tides. This phenomenon is caused by factors such as ocean currents, available nutrients, oxygen availability, predation, and temperature, with ocean currents being the main factor. The jellyfish’s own movement and the movement of ocean currents contribute to the formation of jellyfish tides, and the amount of food varies from place to place where the jellyfish go, so the best location is determined by the food ratio.

3.1.1. Initializing the Population

Low initial population diversity may lead to slow convergence or cause the model to easily fall into local optima. The standard jellyfish search algorithm uses the logistic map, which is more convenient to apply and more effective in randomization, to improve population diversity, and this method is simpler and easier to operate than methods such as the Gauss map and Chebyshev map.
The expression for the logistic map is as follows:
X i + 1 = η X i ( 1 X i ) , 0 X i 1 , η = 4
where Xi is the logistic chaos map value of the i-th jellyfish position and η is a control parameter. The randomness of this chaotic sequence was verified in the literature [20] and found to be better when taking the value of (3.99, 4]; here, the value of η is set to 4.

3.1.2. Time Control Mechanism

Ocean currents are rich in nutrients and, therefore, attract a large number of jellyfish. Over time, these jellyfish gather together to form a jellyfish swarm. When the temperature or wind in the current changes, the jellyfish in the swarm will move to another current to form a new jellyfish swarm. The motions in a jellyfish swarm are divided into passive and active motions. At first, jellyfish mainly engage in passive motions, but they tend to move more actively as time goes by. Therefore, the algorithm needs to introduce a temporal control mechanism to handle this situation. The temporal control mechanism controls the transition between ocean currents and intra-population motions using temporal control functions C(t) and C0, which are random values that fluctuate from 0 to 1 with time. The formula is as follows:
C ( t ) = ( 1 t M i ) × ( 2 × r a n d ( 0 , 1 ) 1 )
where the initial time C0 = 0.5. If C(t) > C0, the movement follows the ocean current, and vice versa for intra-cluster movement.

3.1.3. Simulation of Ocean Currents

Jellyfish either follow currents or move within the community. Ocean currents contain large amounts of nutrients, so jellyfish are attracted to them. The direction of the current (t) is determined by the average of all vectors of each jellyfish in the ocean toward the jellyfish currently in the best position, with the following equation:
t = t i n p
t = X * d f
d f = e c u
where np is the number of jellyfish, X* is the optimal position of the current jellyfish population, u is the average position of all jellyfish, and df is the difference between the optimal position of the current jellyfish and the average position of all jellyfish, for ec controls the factor of attraction, and the equation that determines the difference between the optimal position and the average position of all jellyfish is as follows:
e c = β × r a n d ( 0 , 1 )
d f = β × r a n d ( 0 , 1 ) × u
Thus, the new position of each jellyfish is as follows:
X i ( t + 1 ) = X i ( t ) + r a n d ( 0 , 1 ) × ( X * β × r a n d ( 0 , 1 ) × u ) , β = 3
where β is a distribution coefficient. After evaluating the validity of the coefficient β associated with the spatial distribution, the authors of [20] took the value of β to be [0.5 10] and found that the best optimal value can be achieved when the value is taken to be 3. In this paper, β = 3.

3.1.4. Simulation of Jellyfish Swarms

The movement of jellyfish in the population is divided into two types: active and passive movement. The mode of locomotion regarding the movement of jellyfish within the population can be expressed as (1 − C(t)). When rand(0, 1) > (1 − C(t)), the jellyfish population exhibits passive movement. Over time, (1-C(t)) increases from 0 to 1, so that eventually (1 − C(t)) > rand(0, 1) occurs with a higher probability, and, thus, the jellyfish tend to change from a passive to an active mode of movement when moving internally [20].
When the population starts to form, most jellyfish exhibit passive movements with the following equation:
X i ( t + 1 ) = X i ( t ) + γ × r a n d ( 0 , 1 ) × ( t b b b ) , γ = 0.1
where tb and bb are the upper and lower bounds of the delimited area, respectively, and γ is a motion coefficient. Similarly, the algorithm works best when the value of γ obtained experimentally after setting the value of γ to [0.05 1] is equal to 0.1 [20].
When a jellyfish starts to make active movements in the group, to simulate this movement, an uninterested jellyfish b is randomly selected and the direction of movement is determined using a vector from the interested jellyfish a to jellyfish b. If the amount of food available to jellyfish b is greater than the amount of food available to jellyfish a of interest, jellyfish a moves toward jellyfish b. If the amount of food available to jellyfish b is less than the amount of food available to jellyfish a of interest, jellyfish a moves away from jellyfish b. Thus, each jellyfish moves in a more favorable direction to find food in the group. The direction of movement and the updated position of the jellyfish are as follows:
S = r a n d ( 0 , 1 ) × D D = X j ( t ) X i ( t ) , f ( X i ) f ( X j ) X i ( t ) X j ( t ) , e l s e X i ( t + 1 ) = X i ( t ) + S
where Xi represents the original jellyfish (the jellyfish of interest), Xj represents the randomly selected jellyfish that is not of interest, S represents the search step during active movement, and D represents the direction of movement.

3.1.5. Boundary Constraints

In reality, the oceans are spread all over the world and resemble a spherical shape. Therefore, jellyfish that move beyond the boundary will move in the opposite direction. The formula is as follows:
X i , d = ( X i , d t b , d ) + b b ( d ) ,   i f X i , d > t b , d X i , d = ( X i , d b b , d ) + t ( d ) ,   i f X i , d < b b , d
where Xi,d is the position of the i-th jellyfish in the d-dimension, Xi,d is the updated position of the i-th jellyfish in the d-dimension, and tb,d and bb,d are the upper and lower boundaries of the delimited region, respectively.

3.2. Improved Jellyfish Search Algorithm

3.2.1. Two-Level Logistic Map

The logistic map for initializing populations in the artificial jellyfish search algorithm suffers from the problem of convergence after multiple iterations, and this paper adopts the two-level logistic map method proposed in the literature [43] for initializing populations. The mapping trajectory of the two-level logistic map is jointly determined by two initial values and is more selective. The improved method has a larger selection range of fractal coefficients after Lyapunov exponential analysis, which has the advantages of more selectivity, more uniform distribution, and better chaos. The expression of the two-level logistic map is as follows:
X i + 2 = r X i + 1 ( 1 X i + 1 ) + ( 4 r ) X i ( 1 X i ) , 0 X i 1 , 0 r 4
where the chaotic mapping value of the updated position of the i-th jellyfish is determined by Xi and Xi+1, and r is a fractal coefficient. It has been proven experimentally in the literature [43] that, in the range of [0, 1.2849) and (3.4776, 4], the system is in an obviously chaotic state, except for some individual points which are not in a chaotic state. In addition, after the class randomness test, it was further found that, when r = 0.01, the mapping effect was the most superior, and the number of chaotic sequences that can be selected was also relatively large, so this paper will take the value of r as 0.01.

3.2.2. Adaptive Step Size

The artificial jellyfish search algorithm focused on intra-population movement has specified the way to determine the movement direction, but the intra-population movement distance Step has a strong randomness; only the position of the reference jellyfish is considered when simulating the movement, but the superiority of the quality of this jellyfish position is not guaranteed. In this paper, we introduce the Cauchy strategy to optimize the reference jellyfish position and the following step to improve the convergence speed and accuracy. The simulated jellyfish i is searched outward from the center, and the search area is circular and obeys the Cauchy distribution. The new jellyfish positions are updated after adding the Cauchy strategy as follows, where cauchy(0,1) is the standard Cauchy distribution and f(x) is the one-dimensional standard Cauchy stepwise probability density function.
X i ( t + 1 ) = X i ( t ) + c a u c h y ( 0 , 1 ) · D f ( x ) = 1 π ( 1 x 2 + 1 ) ,   - < x < +
The Cauchy distribution has a smooth distribution curve, and its search range is larger, which can effectively jump out of the influence of local search problems in the process.
In summary, the specific steps of the improved jellyfish search algorithm (CIJS) are as follows:
  • Initializing jellyfish populations;
  • Evaluating the fitness value to determine the initial optimal position;
  • Updating the time control parameter C(t);
  • Updating the jellyfish positions based on ocean currents;
  • Updating the type of movement and updating the position of the jellyfish for types a and b, respectively;
  • Re-evaluating the fitness value and updating the jellyfish’s optimal position;
  • Determining whether the maximum number of iterations is satisfied, and, if so, outputting the optimal position and the global optimal solution; otherwise, the algorithm will return to step 3 and re-iterate the calculation.
Based on the above algorithm steps, the CIJS can be described as shown in Algorithm 1.
Algorithm 1 Pseudo-code of CIJS.
Input:
 Evaluation function f(x)
 Number of jellyfish np
 Maximum number of iterations Mi
 Top and bottom bounds on the value of the d-dimension tb,d & bb,d
Output:
 Optimal fitness value
1:Begin
2:
  • Initializing jellyfish populations Xi using the two-levels logistic map method by Equation (7).
3:
  • Calculate the quantity of food for Xi and find the jellyfish locations with the most food X*.
4: Initialization time t = 1.
5:  Repeat
6:    For i = 1: np do
7:   Calculate the time control C(t).
8:   If C(t) > 0.5, jellyfish follow ocean currents.
9:     Updating jellyfish locations by Equation (5)
10:   Otherwise, jellyfish moving within populations.
11:    If rand(0,1) < 1 − C(t), jellyfish adopt passive movements in populations.
12:Updating jellyfish locations by Equation (6)
13:Otherwise, jellyfish adopt active movements in populations.
14:Updating jellyfish locations by Equation (8)
15:End if
16:End if
17:Check the boundaries.
18:
  •   Calculate current quantity of food for Xi and find the jellyfish locations with the most food X*.
19:End for i
20:Update the time t = t + 1
21:Until t > Mi stop
22:End

4. Experimental Simulation and Analysis

4.1. Baseline Function Test

In this paper, 20 of the benchmark functions listed in the literature [44] (as shown in Table 1) were selected and compared to verify the effectiveness and superiority of the improved algorithm by solving through the use of particle swarm optimization (PSO), whale optimization algorithm (WOA), the artificial jellyfish search algorithm (JS), and the improved jellyfish search algorithm (CIJS). The first to the sixth functions are single-peaked functions to check the speed and accuracy of the improved algorithm; the seventh to the twentieth functions are multi-peaked functions to check the ability of the improved algorithm to jump out of the local optimum.
The parameter settings of each algorithm are shown in Table 2, and the algorithms were run on a computer with an inter(R) Core i5-9400 processor and the running environment Windows 10, using MatlabR2018b software for 30 iterations each, and these 30 experiments were summarized and analyzed for comparative data (including the mean, optimal fitness value, and standard deviation) as shown in Table 3.
According to the comparison of the data in Table 3 and the iterative curves in Figure 2, it can be seen that the CIJS performance is higher than the other three algorithms when dealing with the 1st to 6th single-peaked functions; when dealing with multi-peaked functions, the CIJS used for the 7th function iteration to the theoretical value is slower than the WOA and JS in terms of the number of iterations. Although the CIJS can find the theoretical value of the test function, the 13th function is better than the WOA and JS in terms of stability. In addition, when dealing with the 18th to 20th fixed-dimensional multi-peaked function Shekels, there is almost no difference in solution accuracy and solution speed between the CIJS compared to the JS and WOA, and all three algorithms can iterate better to the theoretical value. The PSO search results in the benchmark function tests were generally poor. Overall, the iteration results obtained via the CIJS with 30 iterations of different test functions are better than the other three algorithms and have certain advantages in solving various benchmark functions, but there is still room for improvement in the iteration speed.
In summary, after selecting 20 benchmark function problems to test the performance of the CIJS, the results of the four algorithms were statistically analyzed, and the improved jellyfish search algorithm proposed in this paper has overall a better optimization seeking ability and iterative effects.

4.2. Algorithm Simulation

Experiments were conducted using the improved jellyfish search algorithm for the 30-dimensional logistics center arithmetic and the 100-dimensional logistics center arithmetic, with the parameters set as shown in Table 4.

4.2.1. Site Selection for the 30-Dimensional Emergency Logistics Distribution Center

Here, the co-ordinates of the 30 demand points were collected, and Table 5 shows the co-ordinates and the amount of material to be distributed. The CIJS population size parameter is 50 and the maximum number of iterations is 100, and the optimal results of the solution for the different numbers of distribution centers were selected for 30 iterations in the same computer environment as above, as shown in Table 6.
Once again, the population size parameter of the standard artificial jellyfish search algorithm was set to 50, the maximum number of iterations was set to 100, and 30 experiments were performed in the same computer environment. The optimal iteration curves when six emergency logistics distribution centers are selected were compared with the CIJS experimental results, as shown in Figure 3.
The optimal fitness value of both algorithms in 30 trials can reach 184813, but the average time taken to solve the model using the CIJS is 17.65 s and 18.34 s using JS, and the figure shows that the CIJS can iterate the optimal value at the 20th iteration, while JS can only iterate the optimal value after the 50th iteration. Therefore, it can be seen that, even though the accuracy of the improved jellyfish search algorithm in the 30-dimensional example is comparable to that of the JS, the CIJS solves the model faster.

4.2.2. Site Selection for the 100-Dimensional Emergency Logistics Distribution Center

After the above 30-dimensional experiments, the co-ordinates and demand of 100 demand points in higher dimensions as shown in Table 7 were collected for experiments. The CIJS population size parameter was also set to 50, the maximum number of iterations was 500, and the selected distribution center numbers and fitness value obtained by solving for different numbers of distribution centers for 30 iterations in the same computer environment were as above, as shown in Table 8.
The demand points and transportation routes responsible for selecting 30 emergency logistics distribution centers are shown in Figure 4, where the square represents the distribution center, the circle represents the demand point, and the connecting line between the two shapes represents the transportation route.
PSO, WOA, and JS were used to perform 30 experiments in the same computer environment with the same parameters as in the benchmark function test above, and the population size was set to 50 and the maximum number of iterations was set to 500. In order to compare the results of the four algorithms more intuitively, a comparison of the optimal iteration curves when 30 emergency logistics and distribution centers are selected is shown in Figure 5. From the figure, it can be seen that the CIJS can iterate to the optimal value in the shortest number of iterations and has the highest solution accuracy. The WOA is completed earlier than the JS iteration, but its accuracy is poorer compared to JS, which may be caught in the local optimum; instead, the final fitness value of the JS iteration is better than that of the WOA. PSO has the slowest search speed and lowest solution accuracy.
Table 9 shows the optimal fitness values, the optimal number of iterations, and the average iteration time of the PSO, WOA, JS, and CIJS in 30 experiments when selecting 30 emergency logistics and distribution centers. From the statistical analysis in the table, it can be seen that, in the 100-dimensional distribution center selection problem, compared with WOA, JS, and PSO, the result of the CIJS solution model is 270,296, and the average iteration time is 217 s, and these two values are optimal in the results of the four algorithms. Thus, it can be shown that the improved jellyfish search algorithm can better ensure that the problem can be solved by jumping out of the local optimum, and the result with the highest accuracy can be produced in the shortest time.
In summary, the performance of the CIJS was further verified by applying the improved bionics algorithm to model solving problems with different dimensions and comparing its computational results with those of PSO, WOA, and JS. The results of the statistical analysis show that the CIJS has a faster iteration speed and higher solution accuracy compared to the other algorithms. The above arithmetic simulation can be a reference for similar objective-planning problems such as logistics site selection.

5. Conclusions

In this paper, based on the consideration of logistics and distribution transportation costs, the material transportation time satisfaction index was introduced to establish an emergency logistics distribution center site selection model, which can better respond to the influencing factors of distribution center site selection in emergency situations.
An improved jellyfish search algorithm was used to solve the emergency distribution center siting problem based on the proposed siting model. The standard artificial jellyfish search algorithm simulates jellyfish foraging behavior through the bionic phenomenon, which has better search capabilities. In order to address the problem where JS easily falls into the local optimum when searching, the original way of initializing the population is changed, and the two-level logistic map method is introduced to increase the diversity of the population; at the same time, the Cauchy variation strategy is introduced to make it easier to determine the searching step length in the active searching. The above improvements can accelerate the convergence speed of the algorithm, ensure that the search jumps out of the local optimum, and improve the solution accuracy. The convergence and stability of the algorithm were also analyzed by using the benchmark function test experiments, and the superiority of the CIJS was verified by comparing it to other algorithms. The improved jellyfish search algorithm can find the optimal solution faster, thus improving the quality of the solution.
In the emergency distribution center siting problem, the improved algorithm can find the optimal siting solution faster and improve emergency response efficiency. Meanwhile, simulating the examples of logistics and distribution centers with different dimensions, the improved jellyfish search algorithm is able to adapt to different emergency scenarios, obtain good results, and provide a more reliable siting solution than some other algorithms.
However, there are some limitations to this study. First, for some large-scale and high-dimensional optimization problems, the computational complexity of the CIJS may increase, leading to a decrease in the efficiency of the algorithm. Second, the setting of parameters has a great impact on the performance of the algorithm, and further experiments and analysis are needed to optimize the selection of parameters. Although the CIJS shows potential in solving optimization problems, further research is needed to verify its application value in practical problems.
In addition, the modeling considerations in this paper are limited to time satisfaction and cost issues, ignoring the effects of uncertain events such as supply chain reliability, environmental risks, or some uncertain events such as traffic congestion and bad weather. Even the application of the improved algorithm is only simulated and verified in the site selection problem, which lacks the verification of other real scenarios. Although the simulation analysis in this paper shows that the improved jellyfish search algorithm has some advantages in terms of the solution results and operation in the site selection problem, subsequent verification of new scenarios, such as network optimization and power system scheduling, is needed.

Author Contributions

P.L. provided the necessary equipment and resource support for the research and contributed to the drafting of the paper. X.F. proposed the improved algorithm (CIJS) and carried out the numerical analysis of the CIJS. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Acknowledgments

Not applicable.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. Distribution Network Style.
Figure 1. Distribution Network Style.
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Figure 2. Distribution network style: (a) iterative comparison image of the 4th benchmark function; (b) iterative comparison image of the 7th benchmark function; (c) iterative comparison image of the 13th benchmark function; and (d) iterative comparison image of the 20th benchmark function.
Figure 2. Distribution network style: (a) iterative comparison image of the 4th benchmark function; (b) iterative comparison image of the 7th benchmark function; (c) iterative comparison image of the 13th benchmark function; and (d) iterative comparison image of the 20th benchmark function.
Biomimetics 08 00349 g002
Figure 3. Comparison of iteration curves.
Figure 3. Comparison of iteration curves.
Biomimetics 08 00349 g003
Figure 4. Selected points and transport routes.
Figure 4. Selected points and transport routes.
Biomimetics 08 00349 g004
Figure 5. Comparison of iteration curves.
Figure 5. Comparison of iteration curves.
Biomimetics 08 00349 g005
Table 1. Basis functions.
Table 1. Basis functions.
Fun. No.FunctionRangeOpt.
1Sphere[−100, 100]0
2Schwefel 2.22[−10, 10]0
3Schwefel 1.2[−100, 100]0
4Rosenbrock[−30, 30]0
5Step[−100, 100]0
6Quartic[−1.28, 1.28]0
7Schwefel[−500, 500]−12,569.5
8Rastrigin[−5.12, 5.12]0
9Ackley[−32, 32]0
10Griewank[−600, 600]0
11Penalized2[−50, 50]0
12Foxholes[−65.536, 65.536]0.998
13Kowalik[−5, 5]0.00031
14Six-Hump Camel Back[−5, 5]−1.03163
15Goldstein–Price[−2, 2]3
16Hartman3[0, 1]−3.86
17Hartman6[0, 1]−3.32
18Shekel5[0, 10]−10.15
19Shekel7[0, 10]−10.4
20Shekel10[0, 10]−10.53
Table 2. Parameter setting.
Table 2. Parameter setting.
AlgorithmParameter
PSONP = 50, MI = 10,000, personal learning coefficient = 2, global learning coefficient = 2, inertia weight = 0.9
WOANP = 50, MI = 10,000, fluctuation range: decreased from 2 to 0, coefficient of the logarithmic spiral shape = 1
JSNP = 50, MI = 10,000
CIJSNP = 50, MI = 10,000
Table 3. Summary of experimental results.
Table 3. Summary of experimental results.
No.CIJSPSOWOAJS
MeanOpt.St.MeanOpt.St.MeanOpt.St.MeanOpt.St.
10008.70 × 10−36.58 × 10−33.12 × 10−3000000
20002.355.34 × 10−38.03000000
300012.783.202.482.54 × 10−12.53 × 10−12.69 × 10−33.92 × 10−25.70 × 10−48.34 × 10−2
40001.22 × 10232.6071.4623.6923.684.79 × 10−228.7628.728.77 × 10−3
50001.37 × 10−21.32 × 10−22.21 × 10−30005.68 × 10−14.04 × 10−12.40 × 10−1
60001.66 × 10−31.66 × 10−30000000
7−1.26 × 104−1.26 × 1040−7.22 × 103−7.59 × 1033.76 × 102−1.26 × 104−1.26 × 1042.41 × 10−3−1.26 × 104−1.26 × 1040
800050.8819.1028.84000000
90001.382.26 × 10−15.31 × 10−1000000
100001.56 × 10−21.54 × 10−22.96 × 10−5000000
110005.02 × 10−24.91 × 10−24.31 × 10−30007.30 × 10−27.06 × 10−21.30 × 10−2
129.98 × 10−19.98 × 10−109.98 × 10−19.98 × 10−109.98 × 10−19.98 × 10−109.98 × 10−19.98 × 10−10
133.10 × 10−43.10 × 10−44.00 × 10−42.25 × 10−22.04 × 10−23.93 × 10−43.07 × 10−43.07 × 10−403.47 × 10−43.40 × 10−44.15 × 10−5
14−1.03−1.030−1.03−1.030−1.03−1.030−1.03−1.030
15330330330330
16−3.86−3.860−3.86−3.863.11 × 10−15−3.86−3.863.11 × 10−15−3.86−3.863.11 × 10−15
17−3.32−3.320−3.32−3.320−3.32−3.320−3.32−3.320
18−10.15−10.150−10.15−10.150−10.15−10.150−10.05−10.050
19−10.4−10.40−10.4−10.40−10.4−10.40−10.4−10.40
20−10.53−10.530−10.53−10.538.88 × 10−15−10.53−10.530−10.53−10.530
Table 4. Parameter setting.
Table 4. Parameter setting.
ParameterParameter DescriptionParameter ValueUnit
vTransfer speed50km/h
d1Satisfactory transfer distance40km
d2Unsatisfactory transfer distance80km
αTransportation rates0.5CNY/km·T
CjFixed cost of distribution center10,000CNY/piece
wCost weight40%
Table 5. Points-of-demand information.
Table 5. Points-of-demand information.
No.XYDemand (T)No.XYDemand (T)
11305231220163716167880
23638131590173917217990
34178224490184060237070
437131399601937812212100
53489153570203675257850
63325155670213430283850
73237122940224264293150
84195104490233428190880
9431379090243508237670
10438557070253395264380
113006197060263438320140
122563175640272936324040
132789146140283141355060
142382167640292546253770
15133169520302779282650
Table 6. Site selection options.
Table 6. Site selection options.
Num. of CentersSelected No.Fitness Value
320,9,6320,466
417,9,25,6258,882
512,21,5,17,9212,676
617,25,12,5,30,9184,813
Table 7. Points-of-demand information.
Table 7. Points-of-demand information.
No.XYDem.No.XYDem.No.XYDem.No.XYDem.
13688181890263789262080513792251060761890316460
2401617151002740292838100523468320150771304297530
341811574110283810296990533526325660781084303340
438961656902938622839805431423018507935382315100
540871546100304673029905533563263508034701313110
639291892903142633206110563012342140811779329830
739182179903241862931120573130321240822381330450
840622220100333486303711058304433947083682162620
93751194580343492175550592935297360841478167620
10397221639035332219015060276530814085177782530
11406123281003633341916406131403240608651826720
12420725331203734792107506230533321708727889220
1340292498100383429219850633545355770881064125130
144201239712039358719086064276937395089133289070
154139261511040331824174065228423573090371528440
16376623649041317624083066261124924091182869550
173777209580423176215030672348280350922562167860
183780221280433296215050682577227540932716121050
193896244390443229221760692860265250942061175650
203888226290453264236770702778257450952291192460
2135942900100463402255170712592286240962751127770
223796249990473360264360722801286250972788140350
233678246380483101291280732126282080982012155920
243676257870493402279270742401270080992688149150
2534782705605034392721507523702896701003020155270
Table 8. Site selection options.
Table 8. Site selection options.
Num. of CentersSelected No.Fitness Value
533,67,19,99,1985,207
1089,50,38,77,61,4,67,19,99,27632,321
2038,62,30,40,51,12,33,70,7,76,89,59,9,80,75,5,95,96,27,49386,028
3051,30,62,80,29,33,32,15,90,75,9,76,43,2,70,85,11,89,7,95,31,5,48,53,50,96,87,40,78,100270,296
Table 9. Iterative values.
Table 9. Iterative values.
AlgorithmOpt.IterationsAverage Iteration Time
CIJS270,296272217
JS276,902290233
WOA278,335287237
PSO304,577399301
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Li, P.; Fan, X. The Application of the Improved Jellyfish Search Algorithm in a Site Selection Model of an Emergency Logistics Distribution Center Considering Time Satisfaction. Biomimetics 2023, 8, 349. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8040349

AMA Style

Li P, Fan X. The Application of the Improved Jellyfish Search Algorithm in a Site Selection Model of an Emergency Logistics Distribution Center Considering Time Satisfaction. Biomimetics. 2023; 8(4):349. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8040349

Chicago/Turabian Style

Li, Ping, and Xingqi Fan. 2023. "The Application of the Improved Jellyfish Search Algorithm in a Site Selection Model of an Emergency Logistics Distribution Center Considering Time Satisfaction" Biomimetics 8, no. 4: 349. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8040349

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