Aggregation operators of complex fuzzy Z-number sets and their applications in multi-criteria decision making

Abstract

Fuzzy sets (FSs) are a flexible and powerful tool for reasoning about uncertain situations that cannot be adequately expressed by classical sets. However, these sets fall short in two areas. The first is the reliability of this tool. Z-numbers are an extension of fuzzy numbers that improve the representation of uncertainty by combining two important components: restriction and reliability. The second is the problems that need to be solved simultaneously. Complex fuzzy sets (CFSs) overcome this problem by adding a second dimension to fuzzy numbers and simultaneously adding connected elements to the solution. However, they are insufficient when it comes to problems involving these two areas. We cannot express real-life problems that need to be solved at the same time and require the reliability of the information given with any set approach given in the literature. Therefore, in this study, we propose the complex fuzzy Z-number set (CFZNS), a generalization of Z-numbers and CFS, which fills this gap. We provide the operational laws of CFZNS along with some properties. Additionally, we define two essential aggregation operators called complex fuzzy Z-number weighted averaging (CFZNWA) and complex fuzzy Z-number weighted geometric (CFZNWG) operators. Then, we present an illustrative example to demonstrate the proficiency and superiority of the proposed approach. Thus, we process multiple fuzzy expressions simultaneously and take into account the reliability of these fuzzy expressions in applications. Furthermore, we compare the results with the existing set operations to confirm the advantages and demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach. Considering the simultaneous expression of fuzzy statements, this study can serve as a foundation for new aggregation operators and decision-making problems and can be extended to many new applications such as pattern recognition and clustering. © The Author(s) 2024.