k-p

2 Fractional Factorial Designs

-Pros and cons

 Save time and expense as compared to full factorial designs

 Information obtained is less: may not be possible to incorporate interactions
among all factors.

Fractional factorial design implications

k-1
—2 design  half of the experiments of a full factorial design

k-2
—2 design  quarter of the experiments of a full factorial design

Ex I A B C D E F G
pt
• Study the effects of
7 factors 1 1- - - 1 1 1 - with 8
experiments
• 1 1 1 1 Full factorial
design would
have required
7
2 11 - - - - 1 1
2 =128
1 1 1 1 experiments

3 1- 1 - - 1 - 1
1 1 1 1

Model 4 11 1 - 1 - - - equation
for 27-4 1 1 1 1 design
 q0  qA xA y
5 1- - 1 1 - - 1
qB xB  qC xC 
1 1 1 1
qDxD  qE xE 
6 11 - 1 - 1 - -
qF xF  qG xG 
1 1 1 1
Analyzing data with a 7-
7 1- 1 1 - - 1 -
1 1 1 1
8 11 1 1 1 1 1 1
 7-4
factor 2 experimental design

expe I A B C D E F G Y
11
1 1 -1 -1 -1 1 1 1 -1
35
2 1 1 -1 -1 -1 -1 1 1
8
3 1 -1 1 -1 -1 1 -1 1
42
4 1 1 1 -1 1 -1 -1 -1
31
5 1 -1 -1 1 1 -1 -1 1
51
6 1 1 -1 1 -1 1 -1 -1
52
7 1 -1 1 1 -1 -1 1 -1
91
8 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
32 117 65 129 29 1 57 9 Total
1
40 14. 8.1 16. 3.6 0.1 7.1 1.1 Total/
.1 63 25 13 25 25 25 25 8

As before, effects of factors in last line of table Percent

variation explained
A B C D E F G
37.26 4.47 43.40 6.75 0.0 8.0 0.0
0 7 3

k-p
Preparing a Sign Table for a 2 Design
 Prepare a sign table for a full factorial design with k-p factors
k-p
table of 2 rows and columns—

first column with all 1’s; mark it “I—

”

next k-p columns: mark with chosen k-p factors—

k-p
of the 2 -k+p-1 columns remaining, relabel p of them with —
remaining factors

Example: prepare a 27-4 table

3
—prepare a sign table for a 2 design for first 3 factors

—relabel rightmost 4 columns with additional factors D, E, F, G

ABC BC AC AB
I A B C D E F G
1 -1 -1 -1 1 1 1 -
1
1 1 -1 -1 -1 -1 1 1
1 -1 1 -1 -1 1 -1 1
1 1 1 -1 1 -1 -1 -
1
1 -1 -1 1 1 -1 -1 1
1 1 -1 1 -1 1 -1 -
1
1 -1 1 1 -1 -1 1 -
1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

-There are k factors of interest each having 2 levels. There are only enough resources to run 1/2 p of the
full factorial 2k design. Thus, we say we want to run a 1/2 p fraction of a 2k design. This design is
called a 2 k−p fractional factorial design.

– Suppose there are 7 factors of interest (A, B, C, D, E, F, G). There are only enough resources for 16
experimental runs which is 1/8 of a 27 design. Thus, we want to runa 1/8 fraction of a 27 design. This
design is called a 27−3 fractional factorial design.[1]

[1]Art Of Computer Systems Performance Analysis Techniques For Experimental Measurements

Simulation And Modeling, Raj_Jain, 1991