Fuzzy Arithmetic With and Without Using Alpha Cut

International Journal of Latest Trends in Computing (E-ISSN: 2045-5364) 99
Volume 2, Issue 1, March 2011

Fuzzy Arithmetic with and without using
-cut method: A Comparative Study

Palash Dutta
1
, Hrishikesh Boruah
2
, Tazid Ali
3

Dept. of Mathematics, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh,-786004, India
palash.dtt@gmail.com, h.boruah07@gmail.com, tazidali@yahoo.com

Abstract: In [2] and [6] the authors proposed a
method for construction of membership function
without using -cut. They claim that the standard
method of -cut [1] fails in certain situations viz in
determining square root of a fuzzy number. We
would like to counter their argument by proving
that -cut method is general enough to deal with
different type of fuzzy arithmetic including
exponentiation, extracting nth root, taking
logarithm. Infact we illustrate with examples to
show that -cut method is simpler than their
proposed method.

Keywords: Fuzzy membership function, fuzzy
number, alpha-cut

1. Introduction:
-cut method is a standard method for
performing different arithmetic operations
like addition, multiplication, division,
subtraction. In [2] and [6] the authors argue
that finding membership function for square
root of X where X is a fuzzy number, is not
possible by the standard alpha-cut method.
They have proposed a method of finding
membership function from the simple
assumption that the Dubois-Prade left
reference function is a distribution function
and similarly the Dubois-Prade right
reference function is a complementary
distribution function. In this paper we are
going to show that alpha-cut method can be
used for finding n
th
root of fuzzy number and
infact this method is simpler than that
proposed by them. However we do
acknowledge that the proposed method has
more mathematical beauty than the existing
alpha-cut method.
2. Basic Concept of Fuzzy Set
Theory:

In this section, some necessary backgrounds
and notions of fuzzy set theory are reviewed.

Definition 2.1: Let X bea universal set.
Then the fuzzy subset A of X is defined by its
membership function
: [0,1]
A
X

which assign a real number
( )
A
x
in the
interval [0, 1], to each element x X e ,
where the value of
( )
A
x
at x shows the
grade of membership of x in A.

Definition 2.2: Given a fuzzy set A in X and
any real number e [0, 1], then the -cut or
-level or cut worthy set of A, denoted by

A
is the crisp set

A = {x e X:
( )
A
x
}

The strong a cut, denoted by
+
A is the crisp
set
+
A = {x X: ( )
A
x > }
For example, let A be a fuzzy set whose
membership function is given as
,
( )
,
A
x a
a x b
b a
x
c x
b x c
c b

s s
s s

To find the -cut of A, we first set [0,1]
to both left and right reference functions of
A. That is,
x a
b a
o

=
and
c x
c b
o

=
.
Expressing x in terms of we have
( ) x b a a o = +
and
( ) x c c b o =
.
which gives the -cut of A is

[( ) , ( ) ] A b a a c c b
o
o o = +

Definition 2.3: The support of a fuzzy set A
defined on X is a crisp set defined as

Supp (A) = {x X: ( )
A
x > 0}

Definition 2.4: The height of a fuzzy set A,
denoted by h(A) is the largest membership
grade obtain by any element in the set.
( ) sup ( )
A
x X
h A x
e
=

Definition 2.5: A fuzzy number is a convex
normalized fuzzy set of the real line R whose
membership function is piecewise
continuous.

Definition 2.6: A triangular fuzzy number A
can be defined as a triplet [a, b, c]. Its
membership function is defined as:

,
( )
,
A
x a
a x b
b a
x
c x
b x c
c b

s s
s s

Definition 2.7: A trapezoidal fuzzy number A
can be expressed as [a, b, c, d] and its
membership function is defined as:

,
( ) 1,
,
A
x a
a x b
b a
x b x c
d x
c x d
d c

s s
= s s

s s

3. Arithmetic operation of fuzzy
numbers using -cut method:

In this section we consider arithmetic
operation on fuzzy numbers using -cut cut
method considering the same problem as
done in [2] and [3] and hence make a
comparative study.

3.1. Addition of fuzzy Numbers:

Let X= [a, b, c] and Y= [p, q, r] be two fuzzy
numbers whose membership functions are

,
( )
,
X
x a
a x b
b a
x
c x
b x c
c b

s s
s s

,
( )
,
Y
x p
p x q
q p
x
r x
q x r
r q

s s
s s

Then
[( ) , ( ) ] X b a a c c b
o
o o = +

and
[( ) , ( ) ] Y q p p r r q
o
o o = +

are the o cuts of fuzzy numbers X and Y
respectively. To calculate addition of fuzzy
numbers X and Y we first add the o cuts of
X and Y using interval arithmetic.

X Y
o o
+

[( ) , ( ) ]
[( ) , ( ) ]
b a a c c b
q p p r r q
o o
o o
= +
+ +

[ ( ) ,
( ) ]....................(3.1)
a p b a q p
c r c b r q
o
o
= + + +
+ +

To find the membership function ( )
X Y
x
+

we equate to x both the first and second
component in (3.1) which gives

( ) x a p b a q p o = + + +
and
( ) x c r c r b q o = + +

Now, expressing o in terms of x and setting
0 o = and 1 o = in (3.1) we get o together
with the domain of x,

( )
, ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
x a p
a p x b q
b q a p
o
+
= + s s +
+ +

and

( )
, ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
c r x
b q x c r
c r b q
o
+
= + s s +
+ +

which gives

( )
, ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
, ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
X Y
x a p
a p x b q
b q a p
x
c r x
b q x c r
c r b q
+
+
+ s s +
+ +
=

+
+ s s +
+ +

3.2. Subtraction of Fuzzy Numbers:

Let X= [a, b, c] and Y= [p, q, r] be two fuzzy
numbers. Then
[( ) , ( ) ] X b a a c c b
o
o o = +
and
[( ) , ( ) ] Y q p p r r q
o
o o = +
are the
o cuts of fuzzy numbers X and Y
respectively. To calculate subtraction of
fuzzy numbers X and Y we first subtract the
o cuts of X and Y using interval arithmetic.

X Y
o o

[( ) , ( ) ]
[( ) , ( ) ]
b a a c c b
q p p r r q
o o
o o
= +
+

[( ) ( ( ) ),
( ) (( ) )]
b a a r r q
c c b q p p
o o
o o
= +
+

[( ) ( ) ,
( ) ( ) ].............(3.2)
a r b a r q
c p c b q p
o
o
= + +
+

To find the membership function
( )
X Y
x

( ) ( ) , x a r b a r q o = + +

and
( ) ( ) x c p c b q p o = +


( )
, ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
x a r
a r x b q
b q a r
o

= s s

and
( )
, ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
c p x
b q x c p
c p b q
o

= s s

which gives

( )
, ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
, ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
X Y
x a r
a r x b q
b q a r
x
c p x
b q x c p
c p b q

s s
s s

3.3. Multiplication of Fuzzy Numbers:

Let X= [a, b, c] and Y= [p, q, r] be two
positive fuzzy numbers. Then
[( ) , ( ) ] X b a a c c b
o
o o = +
and
[( ) , ( ) ] Y q p p r r q
o
o o = +
are the
respectively. To calculate multiplication of
fuzzy numbers X and Y we first multiply the
o cuts of X and Y using interval arithmetic.

* X Y
o o

[( ) , ( ) ]*
[( ) , ( ) ]
b a a c c b
q p p r r q
o o
o o
= +
+

[(( ) )*(( ) ),
( ( ) )*( ( ) )].............(3.3)
b a a q p p
c c b r r q
o o
o o
= + +

( )
XY
x


2
( )( ) (( ) ( ) ) x b a q p b a p q p a ap o o = + + +
and
2
( )( ) (( ) ( ) ) x c b r q r q c c b r cr o o = + +



which gives,

3.4. Division of Fuzzy Numbers:

Let X= [a, b, c] and Y= [p, q, r] be two
positive fuzzy numbers. Then
[( ) , ( ) ] X b a a c c b
o
o o = +
and
[( ) , ( ) ] Y q p p r r q
o
o o = +
are the
respectively. To calculate division of fuzzy
numbers X and Y we first divide the o cuts
of X and Y using interval arithmetic.

X
Y
o
o
=
[( ) , ( ) ]
[( ) , ( ) ]
b a a c c b
q p p r r q
o o
o o
+
+

( ) ( )
, .....(3.4)
( ) ( )
b a a c c b
r r q q p p
o o
o o
( +
=
(
+

/
( )
X Y
x


( )
( )
b a a
x
r r q
o
o
+
=

and ( )
( )
c c b
x
q p p
o
o

=
+
.


( ) ( )
xr a
b a q r x
o

=
+
,
/ / a r x b q s s
and

( ) )
c px
c b q p x
o

=
+
,
/ / b q x c p s s

which gives

/
, / /
( ) ( )
( )
, / /
( ) )
X Y
xr a
a r x b q
b a q r x
x
c px
b q x c p
c b q p x

s s
s s
+

3.5. Inverse of fuzzy number:

Let X= [a, b, c] be a positive fuzzy number.
Then
[( ) , ( ) ] X b a a c c b
o
o o = +

is the o -cut of the fuzzy numbers X. To
calculate inverse of the fuzzy number X we

first take the inverse of the o -cut of X using
interval arithmetic.

1 1
[( ) , ( ) ] X b a a c c b
o
o o
=
+

1 1
, ......(3.5)
( ) ( ) c c b b a a o o
(
=
(
+

1/
( )
X
x
component in (3.5), which gives

1
( )
x
c c b o
=

and
1
( )
x
b a a o
=
+


1 1 1
,
( )
cx
x
x c b c b
o

= s s
and

1 1 1
,
( )
ax
x
x b a b a
o

= s s
which gives,

1/
1 1 1
,
( )
( )
1 1 1
,
( )
X
cx
x
x c b c b
x
ax
x
x b a b a

s s
s s

3.6. Exponential of a Fuzzy number:

Let X= [a, b, c] > 0 be a fuzzy number. Then
[( ) , ( ) ] A b a a c c b
o
o o = +
is the
o -cut of the fuzzy numbers A. To calculate
exponential of the fuzzy number A we first
take the exponential of the o -cut of A using

exp( ) exp([( ) , ( ) ]) A b a a c c b
o
o o = +

[exp(( ) ), exp( ( ) )]........(3.6) b a a c c b o o = +

exp( )
( )
X
x
we equate to x both the first and
second component in (3.6) which gives

exp(( ) ) x b a a o = +
and

exp( ( ) ) x c c b o =


ln( )
, exp( ) exp( )
x a
a x x
b a
o

= s s
and

ln( )
, exp( ) exp( )
c x
b x c
c b
o

= s s

which gives

exp( )
ln( )
, exp( ) exp( )
( )
ln( )
, exp( ) exp( )
X
x a
a x x
b a
x
c x
b x c
c b

s s
s s

3.7. Logarithm of a fuzzy number:

[( ) , ( ) ] X b a a c c b
o
o o = +
is the
o -cut of the fuzzy number X. To calculate
logarithm of the fuzzy number X we first
take the logarithm of the o -cut of X using

ln( ) ln([( ) , ( ) ]) X b a a c c b
o
o o = +

[ln(( ) ), ln( ( ) )]........(3.7) b a a c c b o o = +

ln( )
( )
X
x


ln(( ) ) x b a a o = +
and

ln( ( ) ) x c c b o =
.



exp( )
, ln( ) ln( )
x a
a x b
b a
o

= s s
and

exp( )
, ln( ) ln( )
c x
b x c
c b
o

= s s

which produces

ln( )
exp( )
, ln( ) ln( )
( )
exp( )
, ln( ) ln( )
X
x a
a x b
b a
x
c x
b x c
c b

s s
s s

4. Square root of fuzzy number by
-cut method

In this section we determine square root of a
fuzzy number by -cut cut method and
compare with that done in [1] and [2].
[( ) , ( ) ] X b a a c c b
o
o o = +
is the
o -cut of the fuzzy numbers X. To calculate
square root of the fuzzy number X we first
take the square root of the o -cut of X using

[( ) , ( ) ] A b a a c c b
o
o o = +

( ) , ( ) ...(4) b a a c c b o o
(
= +

( )
X
x

component in (4), which gives

( ) x b a a o = +
and
( ) x c c b o =

Now, expressing
o
in terms of x and setting
0 o = and 1 o = in (4) we get
o
together

2
,
x a
a x b
b a
o

= s s
and

2
,
c x
b x c
c b
o

= s s

Which gives

2
2
,
( )
,
X
x a
a x b
b a
x
c x
b x c
c b

s s
s s

5. n
th
root of a Fuzzy number:

[( ) , ( ) ] X b a a c c b
o
o o = +
is the
o -cut of the fuzzy numbers X. To calculate
nth root of the fuzzy number X we first take
the nth root of the o -cut of X using interval
arithmetic.
1/ 1/
( ) ([( ) , ( ) ])
n n
X b a a c c b
o
o o = +

1/ 1/
(( ) ) , ( ( ) ) ...(5)
n n
b a a c c b o o ( = +

( )
n
X
x

component in (5) which gives

1/
(( ) )
n
x b a a o = +
and

1/
( ( ) )
n
x c c b o =

0 o = and 1 o = in (5) we get o together

,
n
n n
x a
a x b
b a
o

= s s
and

,
n
n n
c x
b x c
c b
o

= s s

which gives
,
( )
,
n
n
n n
X n
n n
x a
a x b
b a
x
c x
b x c
c b
|
s s

=

s s
\

6. A comparison with the proposed
method:


In this section we solve the same problems as
done in [2] and [3] by o -cut method and
hence make a comparative study.

6.1. Addition of fuzzy Numbers:

Let X= [1,2,4] and Y= [3,5,6] be two fuzzy
numbers whose membership functions are

1,1 2
( )
4
, 2 4
2
X
x x
x
x
x
s s
=

s s

3
, 3 5
( ) 2
6 , 5 6
Y
x
x
x
x x

s s
s s

Then [1 , 4 2 ] X
o
o o = + and
[2 3, 6 ] Y
o
o o = +
are the o cuts of fuzzy
numbers X and Y respectively. Therefore

X Y
o o
+

[1 , 4 2 ] [2 3, 6 ] o o o o = + + +

[3 4,10 3 ]....................(6.1) o o = +

We take 3 4 x o = + and 10 3 x o = ,
Now, expressing o in terms of x by setting

4
, 4 7
3
x
x o

= s s
and

10
, 7 10
3
x
x o

= s s

which gives
4
, 4 7
3
( )
10
, 7 10
3
X Y
x
x
x
x
x
+

s s
s s

6.2 Subtraction of Fuzzy Numbers:

numbers. Then
[1 , 4 2 ] X
o
o o = +
and
[2 3, 6 ] Y
o
o o = +
numbers X and Y respectively. Therefore

X Y
o o

[1 , 4 2 ] [2 3, 6 ] o o o o = + +

[2 5,1 4 ].............(6.2) o o =

we take
2 5 x o = and 1 4 x o =

5
, 5 3
2
x
x o
+
= s s
and
1
, 3 1
4
x
x o

= s s

which gives

5
, 5 3
2
( )
1
, 3 1
4
X Y
x
x
x
x
x

+
s s
s s

6.3 Multiplication of Fuzzy Numbers:

numbers. Then
[1 , 4 2 ] X
o
o o = +
and
[2 3, 6 ] Y
o
o o = +
numbers X and Y respectively. Therefore,

* X Y
o o

[1 , 4 2 ]*[2 3, 6 ] o o o o = + +

2 2
[2 5 3, 2 16 24].............(6.3) o o o o = + + +

We take
2
2 5 3 x o o = + + and
2
2 16 24 x o o = +
1 8 5
, 3 1
4
x
x o
+
= s s
and
8 16 2
,10 24
2
x
x o
+
= s s

which gives,

1 8 5
, 3 10
4
( )
8 16 2
,10 24
2
XY
x
x
x
x
x
+
s s
=

+
s s


6.4 Division of Fuzzy Numbers:

numbers. Then
[1 , 4 2 ] X
o
o o = +
and
[2 3, 6 ] Y
o
o o = + are the o cuts of fuzzy
numbers X and Y respectively. Therefore,

[1 , 4 2 ]
[2 3, 6 ]
1 4 2
, .............(6.4)
6 2 3
X
Y
o
o
o o
o o
o o
o o
+
=
+
+ (
=
(
+

We take

1 ,
6
x
o
o
+
=
and
4 2
2 3
x
o
o
=
+
.


6 1 1 2
,
1 6 5
x
x
x
o

= s s
+
, and

4 3 2 4
,
2(1 ) 5 3
x
x
x
o

= s s
+

which gives

/
6 1 1 2
,
1 6 5
( )
4 3 2 4
,
2(1 ) 5 3
X Y
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

s s
+
=

s s
+

6.5 Addition of a triangular and a
non-triangular fuzzy number:

Let X=[2,3,4] and Y=[4,16,25] be triangular and
non triangular fuzzy numbers respectively whose
membership functions are given as,
2
, 2 4
2
( ) 5 , 4 25
0,
Y
x
x
x x x
otherwise

s s
= s s
and
2
, 4 16
2
( ) 5 ,16 2
0,
Y
x
x
x x x
otherwise

s s
= s s

Then
[2 2 , 5 ] X
o
o o = +
and
2 2
[(2 2 ) , (5 ) ] Y
o
o o = + are the o cuts of
fuzzy numbers X and Y respectively. Therefore,
X Y
o o
+
2 2
[2 2 , 5 ] [(2 2 ) , (5 ) ] o o o o = + + +

2 2
[4 10 6, 11 30].....(6.5) o o o o = + + +

To find the membership function ( )
X Y
x
+
we
equate to x both the first and second component
in (6.5), which gives
2
4 10 6 x o o = + + and

2
11 30 x o o = +

1 4 5
, 6 20
4
x
x o
+
= s s
and
11 1 4
, 20 30
2
x
x o
+
= s s

which gives

1 4 5
, 6 20
4
11 1 4
( ) , 20 30
2
0,
X Y
x
x
x
x x
otherwise
+
s s
+
= s s

By comparing the solutions of the above
examples as done in [6] we have seen that the o
cuts method is simpler than the method
proposed by them. Infact for performing division
(and subtraction), their method is lengthy
compared to o cuts method, because they have
to first perform inverse (negative) of the divisor
(fuzzy number to be subtracted). In example 5 of
[6] the result obtained should be
1 4 5
, 6 20
4
11 1 4
( ) , 20 30
2
0,
X Y
x
x
x
x x
otherwise
+
s s
+
= s s


instead of
1 4 2
, 6 20
4
11 1 4
( ) , 20 30
2
0,
X Y
x
x
x
x x
otherwise
+
s s
+
= s s

5. Conclusion:

In this paper we have shown that -cut
method is a method general enough to deal
with all kinds of fuzzy arithmetic including
nth root, exponentiation and taking log. We
have solved problems using this method and
compared them with the method in proposed
[2] and [6]. We have seen that the alpha-cut
method is simpler than the proposed method.
As a passing remark we would like to
mention that example 3 in [2] is confusing.
Because there they started to extract nth root
of X =[a, b, c], (a,b,c)>0 but ended up
performing exponentiation of the fuzzy
number X.

Acknowledgement
The work done in this paper is under a research
project funded by Board of Research in Nuclear
Sciences, Department of Atomic Energy,
Govt. of India.

References:

[1] Bojadziev, G., Bojadziev, M (1995),
Fuzzy sets, Fuzzy logic, application, World
Scientific.
[2] Chutia, R., Mahanta, S., and Baruah, H.K.
(Dec.2010) An alternative method of
finding the membership of a fuzzy number,
International journal of latest trends in
computing, Vol. 1, Issue 2, 69-72.
[3] Dubois, D., and Prade, H., (2000)
Fundamentals of Fuzzy sets, Kluwer
Academic Publishers, Boston.
[4] Kaufman A., and Gupta, M. M., (1984)
Introduction to Fuzzy Arithmetic, Theory
and applications, Van Nostrand Reinhold
Co. Inc., Workingham, Berkshire.
[5] Klir, G. J., and Yuan B., (2005) Fuzzy
Sets and Fuzzy Logic, Prentice Hall of India
Private limited, new Delhi.
[6] Mahanta, S., Chutia, R., and Baruah, H.K.
(Dec. 2010) Fuzzy Arithmetic without using
the method of -cut International journal of
latest trends in computing, Vol. 1, Issue 2,
73-80.

Fuzzy Arithmetic With and Without Using Alpha Cut

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International Journal of Latest Trends in Computing (E-ISSN: 2045-5364) 99

Volume 2, Issue 1, March 2011

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