A novel multiple criteria decision making method for material selection based on GGPFWA operator

Abstract For a product, how to select the optimal material is a crucial step in the design process. Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) method has been successfully applied to solve various material selection problems. In the MCDM method, alternative materials are evaluated by processing criteria information. In order to handle the uncertainty and inaccuracy in the criteria information, this paper develops a novel MCDM method based on group generalized Pythagorean fuzzy weighted average (GGPFWA) operator. In the novel method, decision makers are divided into advisers and deciders. The advisers use Pythagorean fuzzy set (PFS) to represent the criteria information of alternative materials. PFS is a new extension of fuzzy set, which can effectively represent fuzzy and uncertain information. The deciders use group generalized parameters (GGPs) to judge the accuracy of criteria information provided by each adviser. The GGPs are expressed by Pythagorean fuzzy numbers. Then, the criteria information and the GGPs are aggregated by GGPFWA operator, and the aggregate value of each material is obtained. By processing the aggregate value, the ranking of alternative materials is determined and the optimal material is selected. The accuracy and reliability of the novel method are verified by two material selection cases.