Importance measure system of fuzzy and random input variables and its solution by point estimates

For structure system with fuzzy input variables as well as random ones, a new importance measure system is presented for evaluating the effects of the two kinds of input variables on the output response. Based on the fact that the fuzziness of the output response is determined by that of the input variable, the presented measure system defines the importance measures which evaluate the effect of the fuzzy input variable. And for the random input variable, the importance measure system analyzes its effect from two aspects, i.e. its effect on the central distribution position and that on the fuzzy degree of the membership function of the output response. Taking the effects of the two kinds of input variables on the first moment and second one of the output response into account, the definitions of the importance measures of the input variables are given and their engineering significations are demonstrated. Combining with the advantages of the point estimates of Zhao and Ono, a solution of the proposed importance measures is provided. Several examples show that the proposed measure system is comprehensive and reasonable, and the proposed solution can improve computational efficiency considerably with acceptable precision.