A mixed C-VIKOR fuzzy approach for material selection during design phase: A case study in valve seats for high performance engine

This paper introduces an innovative simple method to manage data uncertainly based on fuzzy logic. The proposed approach perfectly integrates with the C-VIKOR algorithm used to technically ranking the candidate materials. This method aims at helping design teams to select optimal material(s) for the success of a product at the early stages of product development. When neither a material team nor a material expert is available within the company, the design team has to face autonomously with this task. A support system is thus desirable: it has to be easy to use, and not only to rank the candidate materials from a technical point of view, but also to show to the design team the confidence with which to handle this ranking. These conditions are seldom addressed by the models presented in literature, despite their importance. The few existing approaches use a complex probability logic that is tricky to manage by non-expert users. An easy-to-use support system is needed because the smart use of materials is becoming a must-be for the leading industries that have understood how the materials can functionalize the product, rather than simply represent the product hardware. The successful applicability of the proposed method is reported through a case study, debating the material selection for the production of the valve seats component in a high-performance engine, showing the practical feasibility of the method itself.