Planning of Experiments

The scientific method revolves around four key activities: observation,

hypothesis, testing (experiment), and theory.
Experiments are never conducted in a random fashion. Experimentation is a
very organized, systematic, and planned activity.
Planning of experiments may involve following three steps:
(a) Parameter design plan involves experiments objective and
identification of process variables and parameters that
are to be measured.
(b) System and tolerance design plan deals with selection of a
measurement technique, test equipment, and procedure based
on some preconceived tolerance limits for error.
(c) Data reduction design plan involves presentation, use, and
analysis of data to answer the question (or to prove the
hypothesis etc.).
Lecture 3
Process Variables
For parameter design plan, process variables can be of following
types:
(1) Independent variable: any variable that can be changed
independently of other variables.
(2) Dependent variable: a variable that is affected by changes in
one or more variables is known as dependent variable.
(3) Discrete variable: a variable that describes an entity or a
specific item.
(4) Continuous variable: a continuous variable identifies a
continuous quantity. Engineering quantities such as
temperature, pressure, and strain are continuous quantities
and hence are represented by continuous variables.
(5) Extraneous variable: those variables that are not or can not be
controlled during measurements but affect the value of the
measured variable are termed extraneous variables.
Requirements of a Good Experiment
Absence of systematic error
Precision
Range of validity
Simplicity
Calculation of uncertainty
Concept of Repetition and Replication
Repeated measurements made during single test run or on a single
batch (of products) are called repetitions.
The estimated value of a measured variable improves with the
number of measurements. (For example, a bearing manufacturer
would obtain a better estimate of the mean diameter and the
variation in the diameter of a batch of bearings by measuring many
bearings rather than just a few.)
An independent duplication of a set of measurements using similar
operating conditions is referred to as a replication. Replication
allows for quantifying the variation in a measured variable as it
occurs between different tests, each having the same nominal
values of operating conditions.
Concomitant Methods
Concomitant methods are alternative methods of carrying out the
same experiment.
The objective is to obtain two or more estimates for the result, each
based on a different method, which can be compared as a check for
agreement.
Random Test
While an experiment is being conducted, the independent variables are
varied to record their effects on the dependent (measured) variable.
The independent variables are usually varied and applied to the test in a
sequential manner. At the same time the test is affected by variations in
extraneous variables (a possibility that can not be fully eliminated).
A coupling of a relatively slow and uncontrolled variation in the extraneous
variables with the sequential and controlled application of the values of
independent variables, will impose a false and untypical trend on the value
of the dependent (measured) variable.
The possibility of this false trend can be minimized by using a random test
strategy.
A random test is characterized by a measurement matrix that sets a random
order in the values of the independent variables applied.
Reference/Further Reading
R. S. Figliola, D. E. Beasley, Theory and Design for Mechanical
Measurements, John Wiley, Singapore, 2004.