In this study, the optimum conditions for manufacturing particleboard-based waste cotton stalks were evaluated to achieve a good performance of mechanical properties. The response surface methodology (RSM) is used to calibrate the experiment results based on input variables consisting of the weight ratio of melamine formaldehyde to urea-formaldehyde (MU) resins, shelling ratio (SR), and the proportion of cotton particles to poplar particle (CP) in the core layer. An adaptive harmony search (AHS) algorithm is offered to search the optimum constructing conditions of mechanical properties for the composite particleboard using two optimization models. The optimum conditions are evaluated using maximum performance of mechanical properties. Besides, the optimum conditions are searched based on the material cost of the mechanical properties of composite particleboard that are utilized in its constraints. The results showed that the RSM can provide a perfect prediction for the mechanical properties of particleboard. The AHS is successfully applied to optimize the composite conditions. In the first optimization application, the optimal point is obtained for input variables in composite as 21.91% MU, 37.10% SR, and 13.54% CP. However, in the second condition, the optimum conditions are obtained for a good level as 18.32% MU, 51.71% SR, and 8.37% CP in the core layer.
Keywords: Mechanical properties; adaptive harmony search algorithm; optimization; particleboard; response surface methodology.