RANKING FUZZY NUMBERS WITH THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTIC

With three indices embodying the general characteristics of fuzzy numbers: the expectations of fuzzy numbers, the middle points and the spreads of α–cut sets, a new approach to rank fuzzy numbers through the weighted average method was proposed, and an absolute order relation on the basis of the real number set was generated simultaneously. The ranking result can not only reflect the preference of the decision-maker, but also be computed conveniently, especially in ranking triangular and trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. Numerical experiments indicated that this approach can overcome some pitfalls rooted in most existing ranking methods to some extent.