Rough sets applied to materials data

Rough sets is a mathematically well-grounded approach to discovering patterns in data. Examples related to materials science illustrate the application of rough sets methodology to identifying related objects, determining the degree of dependency of subsets of attributes on other attributes, and testing subsets of objects for patterns. Classification of objects into classes that exhibit specific behavior is important in understanding material behavior and in predicting material properties. The lower approximation identifies those objects that belong with certainty to a pattern; the upper approximation identifies those objects that have some probability of belonging to some pattern. Results of the application of the rough sets method to the chalcopyrite family of crystal structures are presented.