Determining the factors that effect the fuel comsumption in F-4 aircrafts by 2^k experiments and Taguchi method

ABSTRACTMaster of Science ThesisDETERMINING THE FACTORS THAT EFFECT THE FUELCONSUMPTION IN F-4 AIRCRAFTS BY 2 k EXPERIMENTS ANDTAGUCHI METHODŞENOL KASAPAnadolu UniversityGraduate School of SciencesDepartment of StatisticsSupervisor: Assist.Prof.Dr. Berna YAZICI2006, 78 pagesIn this thesis, the subject of assuring the quality before producing theproduct which is the recent quality concept has been mentioned and theexperimental design method -one of the most effective methods- has beenexplained for this aim. Then The Taguchi Method which makes theexperimental design widespread for manufacturing sector has been researched.In the application part of the study, the factors which effects the fuelconsumption in F-4 aircrafts were determined. For this aim the Main FuelControl unit which supplies fuel to the engines was studied during its final testphase in 1st Air Supply and Maintenance Center Fuel Test Shop.Five factors (with two levels) that may be effective on fuel consumptionhave been taken into account and effective ones determined using Full FactorialExperimental Design, Fractional Factorial Design and Taguchi Methodseparately. The two methods has been compared according to the obtainedresults.Keywords: Experimental Design, Taguchi Methods, Offline Quality Control,Fractional Factorial Design.ii