Elementary Ideas About Factorial Design
Engineering experiments often involve several factors and the job of an experimenter is to determine the influence of these factors on the output response of the system. Factorial experiment is an experimental strategy where factors are varied together instead of one at a time. In this article, I will just try to focus on some ideas about factorial design. Let’s begin with some useful terms which are used in factorial design: 2^2 factorial design: Two factors, each at two levels; 2^2 or 4 runs (here runs indicate total observations). 2^3 factorial design: Three factors, each at two levels; 2^3 or 8 runs. Main effects: Individual effects of each factor. Interaction effects: Effects when the factors interact with each other. Replication: Repetition of the basic experimen...