Estimating parameters of muskingum model using an adaptive hybrid PSO algorithm

In order to accelerate the convergence and improve the calculation accuracy for parameter optimization of the Muskingum model, we propose a novel, adaptive hybrid particle swarm optimization (AHPSO) algorithm. With the decreasing of inertial weight factor proposed, this method can gradually converge to a global optimal with elite individuals obtained by hybrid PSO. In the paper, we analyzed the feasibility and the advantages of the AHPSO algorithm. Then, we verified its efficiency and superiority by application of the Muskingum model. We intensively evaluated the error fitting degree based on the comparison with four known formulas: the test method (TM), the least residual square method (LRSM), the nonlinear programming method (NPM), and the Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (BFGS) method. The results show that the AHPSO has a higher precision. In addition, we compared the AHPSO algorithm with the binary-encoded genetic algorithm (BGA), the Gray genetic algorithm (GGA), the Gray-encoded accelerating genetic algorithm (GAGA) and the particle swarm optimization (PSO), and results show that AHPSO has faster convergent speed. Moreover, AHPSO has a competitive advantage compared with the above eight methods in terms of robustness. With the efficiency of this approach it can be extended to estimate parameters of other dynamic models.