A Comprehensive Study on Hybrid Meta-Heuristic Approaches Used for Solving Combinatorial Optimization Problems

Solving combinatorial optimization problems has been a great research challenge which could not be effectively addressed by the exact or heuristic methods. This has lead to the application of meta-heuristic or hybrid meta-heuristic approaches in the recent past. These hybrid meta-heuristic approaches are said to be superior in giving an optimal or at least sub-optimal results within a specific time period. Therefore, this paper presents a study on hybrid meta-heuristic approaches used to solve different combinatorial optimization problems. The study was made to understand the advantages and disadvantages of these hybrid meta-heuristic approaches by analyzing the current state of art and its effectiveness in solving combinatorial optimization problems. Such a study has helped in realizing that even these hybrid meta-heuristic approaches used are not good enough in capturing the full benefits of hybridization. Hence, further research is required to capture the full benefit of hybridization which has lead to the exploration of the future research opportunities.