Application of weighting functions to the ranking of fuzzy numbers

This paper proposes a new ranking method for fuzzy numbers, which uses a defuzzification of fuzzy numbers and a weighting function. Following Saeidifar and Pasha (2008), first, we define a weighted distance measure on fuzzy numbers, and then, by minimizing this distance, the weighted interval and point approximations of fuzzy numbers are obtained. These indices are applied to rank the fuzzy numbers. This method is new and interesting for ranking fuzzy numbers, and it can be applied for solving and optimizing engineering and economics problems in a fuzzy environment.