A bipolar approach in fuzzy multi-objective linear programming

The traditional frameworks for fuzzy linear optimization problems are inspired by the max–min model proposed by Zimmermann using the Bellman–Zadeh extension principle to aggregate all the fuzzy sets representing flexible (fuzzy) constraints and objective functions together. In this paper, we propose an alternative approach to model fuzzy multi-objective linear programming problems (FMOLPPs) from a perspective of bipolar view in preference modeling. Bipolarity allows us to distinguish between the negative and the positive preferences. Negative preferences denote what is unacceptable while positive preferences are less restrictive and express what is desirable. This framework facilitate a natural fusion of bipolarity in FMOLPPs. The flexible constraints in a fuzzy multi-objective linear programming problem (FMOLPP) are viewed as negative preferences for describing what is somewhat tolerable while the objective functions of the problem are viewed as positive preferences for depicting satisfaction to what is desirable. This approach enables us to handle fuzzy sets representing constraints and objective functions separately and combine them in distinct ways. After aggregating these fuzzy sets separately, coherence (or consistency) condition is used to define the fuzzy decision set. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.