Conditions for connectivity of incomplete block designs

摘要

In experimental situations where observation loss is common, it is important for a design to be robust against breakdown. For incomplete block designs, with one treatment factor and a single blocking factor, conditions for connectivity and robustness are developed using the concepts of treatment and block partitions, and of linking blocks. Lower bounds are given for the block breakdown number in terms of parameters of the design and its support. The results provide guidance for construction of designs with good robustness properties.