Improved cuckoo search algorithm for structural reliability analysis

In the iterations, the parameters of standard cuckoo search algorithm (CS) are constant, which may affect the convergence and accuracy of the algorithm. To overcome this defection, the variations of the two main parameters which affect the global search and local search capabilities are investigated, and then improvements are made to the parameters. In addition, a modified search equation which aims to further improve the CS local search ability and convergence speed is proposed. The improved CS combined with artificial neural network respond surface method is proposed to solve the structural reliability problem. Comparison with the standard CS, particle swarm algorithm and genetic algorithm, the proposed improved CS reduces the computation and improves the accuracy of the solutions effectively in the process of structural reliability analysis.