Manipulation of Uncertainties in the Determination of Optimal Machining Conditions Under Multiple Criteria

Abstract

In any real-world manufacturing situation, the problem of determining the optimum machining conditions involves not only empirical data but also imprecise information. Uncertain factors may need to be considered in the computational optimization process due to fuzziness present in the empirical equations and experimental data used. To manipulate the uncertainties in the optimization process, a fuzzy model is introduced and investigated. The fuzzy model quantifies the degree of certainty (or uncertainty) in the range 0 to 1. A numerical example is considered to illustrate the computational approach. The overall impact of the uncertain factors on the optimization process is assessed by comparing the present numerical results with those given by the traditional approach.