Abstract: | We study large sets of disjoint Steiner triple systems “with holes”. The purpose of these structures is to extend the use of large sets of disjoint Steiner triple systems in the construction of various other large set type structures to values of v for which no Steiner triple system of order v exists, i.e., v ≡ 0, 2, 4, or 5 (mod 6). We give constructions for all of these congruence classes. We describe several applications, including applications to large sets of disjoint group divisible designs and to large sets of disjoint separable ordered designs. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |