Single change covering designs (Q1209218)

A single change covering design \(\text{SC}(v,k,b)\) on a \(v\)-set \(V\) is an ordered sequence of \(b\) \(k\)-subsets (blocks) of \(V\) which cover every pair of elements of \(V\) at least once, and such that consecutive blocks intersect in \(k-1\) elements. Then there is one ``change'' between consecutive blocks, and the total number of changes over the entire sequence is one less than \(b\). The smallest possible number of changes in any \(\text{SC}(v,k,b)\), for fixed \(v\) and \(k\), is denoted by \(c(v,k)\). Here both lower and upper bounds for \(c(v,k)\) are determined. A tabulation of known results for small \(v\) is also given.