A modified TOPSIS technique in presence of uncertainty and its application to assessment of transportation systems

Abstract

In this paper, a modified TOPSIS approach based on Preference Ratio (PR) and an efficient fuzzy distance measurement has been proposed in an uncertain environment. As it is not proper to rank fuzzy numbers using crisp measurements, PR is supplied to rank Generalized Fuzzy Numbers (GFNs) in a relative manner rather than absolute way. Moreover, as human logic says distances between fuzzy numbers should not be a crisp value. So, an efficient measurement for calculating distance between fuzzy numbers has also been utilized in the core of proposed fuzzy TOPSIS procedure. The aforementioned segments of proposed procedure made it well-posed and efficient for modeling complicated real life problems. The performance of proposed procedure has been compare with an existing approach in selection of different transportation systems modes with conflicting subjective and qualitative. The associated expert system of proposed procedure has been developed through a linkage between MS-Excel 12.0 and Visual Basic 6.0.