B1502
Title: Structure of nonregular two-level designs
Authors: David Edwards - Virginia Commonwealth University (United States) [presenting]
Abstract: Two-level fractional factorial designs are often used in screening scenarios to identify active factors. The block-diagonal structure of the information matrix of nonregular two-level designs is investigated. This structure is appealing since estimates of parameters belonging to different diagonal submatrices are uncorrelated. As such, the covariance matrix of the least-squares estimates is simplified and the number of linear dependencies is reduced. We connect the block diagonal information matrix to the parallel flats design literature and gain insights into the structure of what is estimable and/or aliased using the concept of minimal dependent sets. We show how to determine the number of parallel flats for any given design, and how to construct a design with a specified number of parallel flats using a Kronecker product construction. The usefulness of our construction method is illustrated by producing designs for the estimation of the two-factor interaction model with three or more parallel flats. We also provide a fuller understanding of recently proposed group orthogonal supersaturated designs. The benefits of parallel flats designs for analysis, including bias containment, are also discussed.
