AHP coupled multi-criteria decision making approach for selection of carbon nanotube applied in mechanical engineering under grey-environment

After the discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), a vast research is conducted on their application because of their unique mechanical and electronic properties. The comprehensive intention of this study is to propose a robust mathematical model to select the most suitable form of CNT in mechanical engineering application. One unique aspect of CNTs is that they exhibit different values for a mechanical property with maximum and minimum limits. For this reason the rating of the alternatives is in the form of interval values with respect to the criteria. The alternatives are the different forms of CNTs available that are used for mechanical engineering purposes, whereas the criteria are the different mechanical properties. Hence, selection of the most suitable CNT is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem under grey environment. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) coupled with complex proportional assessment (COPRAS) and a technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method is proposed for the selection under grey environment. In order to test the robustness of the model, a sensitivity analysis for the proposed model is conducted.