Comprehensive Assessment of Dam Failure Risk Consequences Based on TOPSIS-WRSR Coupled Model

The rational assessment of dam failure risk consequences is a critical issue in dam risk management. This study aimed to address the subjectivity and uncertainty inherent in subjective–objective weighting methods, such as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Coefficient of Variation (CV), and Entropy Weight (EW) methods. Hence, this paper proposes a subjective–objective combined weighting method (AHP-CV-EW) based on the Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) method. This approach more objectively determines the weights of evaluation indicators for dam failure risk consequences. The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Weighted Rank Sum Ratio (WRSR) methods were introduced to overcome the limitations of traditional evaluation methods in the comprehensive assessment of dam failure risk consequences. The strengths, weaknesses, and correlations of both methods were considered to propose the TOPSIS-WRSR coupling-based comprehensive assessment model. Additionally, fuzzy set theory was introduced for the fuzzy coupling. Five representative hazardous reservoirs in Jiangxi Province were used to validate the model. The results demonstrate that the proposed model significantly improves the efficiency and accuracy of classifying and ranking dam failure risk consequences. Compared with using only the TOPSIS or WRSR methods, the evaluation results of using the proposed coupled model are more reasonable and consistent with other typical methods. This model provides an effective tool for rapidly assessing dam failure risk consequences and offers technical support for the early warning of dam risks and the prevention of dam failure.