1. Presentation

1.1 Some terminology

For further information, please refer to [40] in the treatise Analyse et Caractérisation des Techniques de l'Ingénieur.

Once the objectives of the study have been clearly defined, and the available resources (budget, time, equipment) evaluated, one of the first tasks facing the formulator is to determine the experimental area to be explored. By experimental area, we mean the set of controlled parameters (or factors) (temperature, composition, particle size, etc.) to which a set of distinct states (or levels) can be imposed. A factor is said to be quantitative when a numerical value can be associated with each of its levels (temperature, mixing time, proportion of a component)....