Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Service Life of Turbocharger Component using Analytic Network Process for Performance Upgrade in Remanufacturing

Performance upgrade in remanufacturing process is one of the lifecycle extension strategies which provides additional values in a used product. The consideration to upgrade the performance requires thorough investigation at the design stage, by integrating Design for Upgrade (DfU) strategies. One of the factors that need to be considered include the service life of the component to ensure proper upgrade can be accomplished in the next life cycle of the component. This study is aimed to evaluate the service life related criteria that affect the decision making when selecting the suitable and best alternative to upgrade the performance of the automotive component. An automotive turbocharger has been selected as the case exemplary of the study. Hence, this study proposes the multi-criteria decision-making approach by using Analytic Network Process (ANP) to evaluate the best selected alternative for performance upgrade of turbocharger component. There are four (4) alternatives were identified which include Alternative 1-Dual bearing system, Alternative 2-Compressor diameter, Alternative 3-Heat insulator layer on compressor and Alternative 4-Improve lubrication system. Besides, ten criteria were identified through literature surveys and online surveys involving 20 respondents and eight criteria were finalised for evaluation using ANP. The eight criteria involved were arranged according to different levels of criteria and sub-criteria. To complete the evaluation using ANP, three experts were involved to assign the scores in each criterion, sub-criteria and alternatives and thus, the weightage can be further calculated using ANP model. The findings show that Alternative 4 ranked at the first place with priority score of 0.50 compared to other alternatives. The robustness of the ANP model was further verified using sensitivity analysis which depict that Alternative 4 has still remained at the first place as the best selected alternative.