Multi-Criteria Choosing of Material for Manufacturing a Pressure Relief Valve

The paper is dedicated to the multi-criteria choice of an optimal variant of a pressure relief valve with a nominal pressure of 3 bar, manufactured from four different materials. The paper includes the usage of a number of existing methods that are combined in an appropriate way to solve a specific practical problem, and a sequence of steps for their effective application is formulated. The optimization is defined and analyzed, and a seven-stage solution approach is developed. A list of requirements for the product is composed. The requirements are organized into objective groups, and an objective tree is developed. Metrics for measuring the requirements are defined. The “House of Quality” tool is used for correlating the metrics and requirements. Based on these correlations, criteria are selected for the evaluation of alternative variants. A mathematical model of the problem is built, and the evaluation criteria are defined in terms of concrete values for the variants, transforming the criteria into objective functions. A normalization method for the objective functions is selected and a principle of optimality is chosen. Using a known method for defining objective functions’ priorities, the weighting factors for different priority scenarios are obtained. The results of the optimization are shown for the different scenarios in relation to the different priorities (importances) of the selected criteria. Seven optimization problems are solved, and three different solutions are found. The solutions are graphically represented on a radar chart. All solutions found are optimal according to the selected criterion for optimality and calculated weight vectors. The final solution, chosen among the optimal ones found, is selected on the basis of additional decision makers’ considerations.