A multi-criteria decision support model for optimal cotton fibre blending

As cotton is a natural fibre, its different physical properties are likely to immensely vary depending on the variations in its seed type, area where it is grown and the climatic conditions. This may affect the characteristics of the final products. Blending is a process of combining different cotton fibres together to synergize their physical properties. For successful blending, it is always required to determine the types of the constituent fibres in the final mix and their appropriate proportions. In this paper, a multi-criteria optimization model in the form of a decision support framework is developed while integrating preference ranking organization method for enrichment of evaluations (PROMETHEE II and V) and geometrical analysis for interactive aid (GAIA) approach. This model is observed to have great potentiality in ranking the considered cotton fibre alternatives from the best to the worst, identifying the top ranked cotton fibres and finding out the constituent fibres in the final blend along with their proportions. Two cotton fibre varieties, such as the Egyptian and Ethiopian types are considered here to demonstrate the applicability of the developed model.