A multi-criteria decision-making method based on triangular interval-valued fuzzy numbers and the VIKOR method

Abstract

In many cases, complex problems cannot be accurately described by precise numerical values. Fuzzy theory provides a suitable tool for solving these problems. However, if decision makers cannot reach an agreement on the method for defining linguistic variables based on fuzzy sets, TIVFNs (triangular interval-valued fuzzy numbers) can provide more accurate modeling. Therefore, solving fuzzy MCGDM (multiple criteria group decision-making) problem with an unknown expert weight and criterion weight in TIVFNs has become an important research direction. In this paper, TIVF-VIKOR (triangular interval-valued fuzzy VIKOR) method, which is suitable for the environment of TIVFNs, is proposed to solve the problem of fuzzy MCGDM. To achieve this goal, the TIVF-VIKOR method is innovatively adopted similarity and coefficient of variation are combined to calculate expert weight, and deviation maximization method based on divergence matrix is used to calculate criterion weight. VIKOR method is used to find the compromise solutions, which are converted into the form of binary connection number, and the optimal compromise solution is obtained after ranking. The proposed method is applied to the problem of machine fault detection, and the validity and feasibility of the method are illustrated. Compared with the TOPSIS∖ELECTRE method, the ranking results of the three methods are equivalent, and the fluctuation of the TIVF-VIKOR method is more distinct.