Intuitionistic fuzzy hierarchical clustering algorithms

Intuitionistic fuzzy set (IFS) is a set of 2-tuple arguments, each of which is characterized by a membership degree and a nonmembership degree. The generalized form of IFS is interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy set (IVIFS), whose components are intervals rather than exact numbers. IFSs and IVIFSs have been found to be very useful to describe vagueness and uncertainty. However, it seems that little attention has been focused on the clustering analysis of IFSs and IVIFSs. An intuitionistic fuzzy hierarchical algorithm is introduced for clustering IFSs, which is based on the traditional hierarchical clustering procedure, the intuitionistic fuzzy aggregation operator, and the basic distance measures between IFSs: the Hamming distance, normalized Hamming, weighted Hamming, the Euclidean distance, the normalized Euclidean distance, and the weighted Euclidean distance. Subsequently, the algorithm is extended for clustering IVIFSs. Finally the algorithm and its extended form are applied to the classifications of building materials and enterprises respectively.