Material selection by using fuzzy complex proportional assessment

Abstract

The selection of useful materials is one of the important difficult duties in product development and providing of the functionality of the product for various industrial applications. An incorrectly selected material may cause various failures in the final product. Moreover, factors such as the suitability of the material for manufacturing, minimizing the cost and maximizing performance are taken into consideration. Hence, it is necessary to use an efficient approach for robust selection of the material. For solving this problem in the case of railway transportation materials, the complex proportional assessment (Copras) method is applied. This study focuses on freight train wagon panels in particular. Moreover, in this paper, fuzzy logic and Copras are combined with group decision making in order to clarify the vagueness of decision makers' judgment in an approach named fuzzy Copras. As a result of this study, it is expected that the best material alternative would be provided in order to achieve the desired functionalities.