An oblique factor analysis solution for the analysis of mixtures

The problems involved in the factor analysis of data consisting of measurements of material quantity or proportion are discussed, and the inability of existing factor analysis solutions to properly model such data is pointed out. A new factor analysis solution using the linear programming technique is presented which properly analyzes mixture data. A numerical example is presented in which a body of suspended sediment grain-size distribution data is analyzed using the new factor analysis solution. FORTRAN-IV subroutines for computing this solution are included in an Appendix.