Abstract:

Today, environmental sustainability and advances in technology have directed industries’ attention towards more environmentally friendly and innovative materials. Wood-plastic composites (WPC) contribute to the conservation of natural resources and the reduction of environmental pollution and present a durable material option. The performance of these composite materials is closely related to the combinations of materials they contain. Determining the most suitable material combination assists manufacturers, designers, and materials engineers in developing products that meet specific application requirements. This study presents an integrated BWM-WASPAS approach to be used in the selection of suitable material combinations for furniture production. Different combinations of beech wood and polycarbonate sheets are evaluated by taking into consideration their physical and mechanical properties. The BWM method is used to prioritize the decision criteria, while the WASPAS method is employed to determine the ranking of the alternatives. In the final stage of the study, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to support the ranking results. This study presents its novelty by formulating the material layer organization evaluation problem in the furniture industry as a complex multicriteria decision-making problem and integrating the BWM and WASPAS methods for material combination selection.

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