Enhancing the Vulnerability Assessment of Rainwater Pipe Networks: An Advanced Fuzzy Borda Combination Evaluation Approach

Abstract

A vulnerability assessment system for rainwater pipe networks, comprising 13 indexes, was developed to facilitate the rational allocation and timely updating of urban storm drainage systems. An enhanced Borda combination evaluation method, which considers both the optimal and worst solutions, was proposed, accompanied by the operation procedure and numerical calculation method. Five stormwater systems in Central China were selected as case studies, and their vulnerability was evaluated and compared using five distinct evaluation methods: the entropy weight method, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), the efficacy coefficient method, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, and the improved fuzzy Borda combination evaluation method. The results demonstrated that the correlation coefficients between the fuzzy Borda combination evaluation method and the four individual evaluation methods were equal to or greater than 0.88, indicating strong agreement. Additionally, the compatibility of the combination evaluation method was found to be 0.96. This study holds both theoretical significance and practical value for preventing urban waterlogging and contributes to the development of more resilient urban storm drainage systems.