Fuzzy TOPSIS Approach Based on Axiomatic Fuzzy Set for Assessing Thermal-Energy Storage in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Systems

Abstract

In classical TOPSIS method, the criteria values and criteria weights are known precisely. However, the values of some criteria are often vague in real-life situation, and it expressed only by exact numerical values is inadequate, the application of linguistic variables or fuzzy terms in decision making is deemed to be relevant. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to develop a fuzzy TOPSIS method to deal with above multiple criteria decision making(MCDM) problems. Here, the linguistic variables are represented by membership degrees applying the axiomatic fuzzy set (AFS) theory, then the application of TOPSIS approach is extended. In addition, the semantic interpretations are provided for the decision results by AFS theory. The proposed method is used to assess thermal-energy storage in concentrated solar power (CSP) systems.