Development of Truss Material Evaluation Software Using Application of AHP-Entropy and TOPSIS Method

Abstract

A truss member is an essential component for supporting roofs and bridge construction. While steel is the primary or most common material used, the industry faces various challenges today, such as product shortages and environmental concerns stemming from steel manufacturing. This research addresses these issues by identifying alternative materials for truss members using modern technology and software development. The study has four main objectives: first, to determine the necessary criteria for evaluating a truss member; second, to determine the weight of each criterion for truss member evaluation; third, to develop an evaluative framework software based on the principles of the Application of Hierarchy Process (AHP), the entropy method, and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method for truss member selection; and fourth and finally, to evaluate two or more alternative truss materials using the evaluative framework software. Data gathering was accomplished through surveys and literature reviews. The research team has developed software that can derive subjective criteria weights using the AHP method, non-subjective criteria weights using the entropy method, and combine the weights obtained from both methods using TOPSIS analysis.