Effect of Raw‐Material Ratios on Absorption of Whiteware Compositions

The purpose of this paper is to present an efficient and most useful experimental design for multiple‐factor experimentation. The fired absorptions of a series of whiteware compositions are expressed as a function of the composition variables and temperatures. These variables are X 1 = clay/ flux, X 2 = clay/flint, X 3 = nepheline syenite/ feldspar, and X 4 = firing temperature. This relationship represents the “best” second‐order approximation to the true but unknown relationship between the absorption and the variables. The equation points out the contribution of each variable to the fired absorption as well as the effect of one variable as influenced by a second. The errors associated with each coefficient in the equation are included along with errors of predicted absorptions.