General minimum lower-order confounding split-plot designs with important whole-plot factors

Abstract

Fractional factorial split-plot (FFSP) designs have been widely used in industrial experiments. Whole-plot (WP) factors and subplot (SP) factors play different roles in FFSP designs. This paper proposes a new optimality criterion for selecting FFSP designs, which is the general minimum lower-order confounding of type WP (WP-GMC), under the circumstances that the experimenter has prior information that the WP factors are more important than the SP factors. Comparison with minimum aberration FFSP designs of type WP is given. Some optimal FFSP designs under the WP-GMC criterion are constructed.