Comprehensive feasibility evaluation of decontamination technologies in HVAC systems using DEMATEL-CRITIC combined weighting and ideal cloud model

In the field of decontamination technology, previous evaluations mainly focused on decontamination rates or economies. Most existing evaluation methods for decontamination technologies are one-dimensional and lack a systematic framework. An ideal cloud model is proposed to conduct comprehensive feasibility evaluation that considered cost-effectiveness, health duality, and operability. The subjective and objective indicator weights are obtained using Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) approaches, while the combined weights are determined using game theory. A case study is conducted on an office building in Chengdu Incubation Park to evaluate the comprehensive feasibility of seven decontamination technologies. The results demonstrate that, from a single perspective, plasma technology presents the highest economic benefits (52 USD/m²) and ultraviolet technology shows superior health duality (HI = 0). In a multi-dimensional evaluation, ultraviolet technology is optimal, signifying its excellent application feasibility. Cost (0.259) and operability (0.214) possess the highest weights and are priority factors for decontamination techniques. The novelty of the ideal cloud model lies in its integration of the Cloud Model's (CM) capability to handle fuzzy information with the ranking advantages of the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), thus providing a realistic and effective method for selecting optimal decontamination technology. Stability analysis shows that when the model parameter hyper-entropy fluctuates by ±20 %, ±40 %, ±60 %, and ±80 % from the baseline value, the evaluation outcomes remain consistently stable. This research establishes a comprehensive framework for evaluating the application feasibility of decontamination technologies to support informed decision-making.