Polymeric Materials Selection for Flexible Pulsating Heat Pipe Manufacturing Using a Comparative Hybrid MCDM Approach

The right choice of polymeric materials plays a vital role in the successful design and manufacture of flexible fluidic systems, as well as heat transfer devices such as pulsating heat pipes. The decision to choose an acceptable polymeric material entails a variety of evaluation criteria because there are numerous competing materials available today, each with its own properties, applications, benefits, and drawbacks. In this study, a comparative hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model is proposed for evaluating suitable polymeric materials for the fabrication of flexible pulsating heat pipes. The decision model consists of fourteen evaluation criteria and twelve alternative materials. For this purpose, three different hybrid MCDM methods were applied to solve the material selection problems (i.e., AHP-GRA, AHP-CoCoSo, and AHP-VIKOR). According to the results obtained, PTFE, PE, and PP showed promising properties. In addition, Spearman's rank correlation analysis was performed, and the hybrid methods used produced consistent rankings with each other. By applying MCDM methods, it was concluded that PTFE is the most suitable material to be preferred for manufacturing flexible pulsating heat pipes. In addition to this result, PE and PP are among the best alternatives that can be recommended after PTFE. The study supports the use of MCDM techniques to rank material choices and enhance the selection procedure. The research will greatly assist industrial managers and academics involved in the selection process of polymeric materials.