Simulated Annealing – 2 Opt Algorithm for Solving Traveling Salesman Problem

The purpose of this article is to elaborate performance of the hybrid model of Simulated Annealing (SA) and 2 Opt algorithm for solving the traveling salesman problem (TSP). The SA algorithm used in this article is based on the outer and inner loop SA algorithm. The hybrid algorithm has promising results in solving small and medium-scale symmetric traveling salesman problem benchmark tests taken from the TSPLIB reference. Results of the optimal solution and standard deviation indicate that the hybrid algorithm shows good performance in terms of reliability and stability in finding the optimal solution from the TSP benchmark case. Values of average error and standard deviation for all simulations in the medium scale are 0.0267 and 644.12, respectively. Moreover, in some cases namely KroB100, Pr107, and Pr144, the hybrid algorithm finds a better solution compared with the best-known solution mentioned in the reference. Further, the hybrid algorithm is 1.207 – 5.692 times faster than the pure outer and inner loop-based SA algorithm. Additionally, the results show that the hybrid algorithm outperforms other hybrid algorithms such as SA – nearest neighbor (NN) and NN – 2 Opt.