NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.

Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Forensic Science

Firearms and toolmarks

Search Publications

Search Title, Abstract, Conference, Citation, Keyword or Author
  • Published Date
Displaying 26 - 50 of 61

The Second National Ballistics Imaging Comparison (NBIC-2)

January 5, 2015
Author(s)
Theodore V. Vorburger, James H. Yen, Jun-Feng Song, Robert M. Thompson, Thomas Brian Renegar, Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, D Ott, Martin G. Ols
In response to the guidelines issued by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB-International) to establish traceability and quality assurance in U.S. crime laboratories, NIST and the ATF initiated a

TESTING AND ANALYSES OF COPOLYMER FIBERS BASED ON 5-AMINO-2-(P-AMINOPHENYL)-BENZIMIDAZOLE

September 22, 2014
Author(s)
Walter G. McDonough, Joy P. Dunkers, Amanda L. Forster, Jae Hyun Kim, Scott A. Wight, Gale A. Holmes
Since the well-publicized failure of a body armor used by a police officer at a threat level the armor had been designed to survive, it has become imperative that the long-term properties and performance of new fibers being considered for use be understood

Applications of Surface Metrology in Firearm Identification

January 8, 2014
Author(s)
Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, Johannes A. Soons, Theodore V. Vorburger, Jun-Feng Song, Thomas Brian Renegar, Robert M. Thompson
Surface metrology is commonly used to characterize functional engineering surfaces. The technologies developed offer opportunities to improve forensic toolmark identification. Toolmarks are created when a tool comes into contact with a surface and causes

Applications of Surface Metrology in Toolmark Identification

January 8, 2014
Author(s)
Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, Johannes A. Soons, Theodore V. Vorburger, Jun-Feng Song, Thomas Brian Renegar, Robert M. Thompson
Surface metrology is commonly used to characterize functional engineering surfaces. The technologies developed offer opportunities to improve forensic toolmark identification. In 2009, a report by the National Academies called into question, amongst others

Analyzing a Co-Polymer Aramid Fiber for Use in Soft Body Armor

October 25, 2013
Author(s)
Walter G. McDonough, Jae Hyun Kim, Nathanael A. Heckert, Amanda L. Forster, Scott A. Wight, Joy P. Dunkers, Gale A. Holmes
Since the well-publicized failure of body armor used by a police officer, it has become imperative that the long-term properties and performance of new fibers being considered for use be understood. The range of interest is from the molecular properties of

Effects of fiber gripping methods on the single fiber tensile test: I. Non parametric statistical analysis

February 15, 2013
Author(s)
Jae Hyun Kim, Nathanael A. Heckert, Stefan D. Leigh, Haruki Kobayashi, Walter G. McDonough, Kirk D. Rice, Gale A. Holmes
Single fiber tensile tests using two different gripping methods were carried out on various fiber lengths. One method (the glue-tab grip) consists of mounting a fiber onto a rigid tab as specified in ASTM C1557-03 using an adhesive, while the other (the

Topography Measurements and Performance Comparisons between NIST SRM 2460 Standard Bullet Masters and BKA Bullet Replicas

July 31, 2012
Author(s)
Jun-Feng Song, Theodore V. Vorburger, Robert M. Thompson, Susan M. Ballou, Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, Thomas Brian Renegar, Richard M. Silver
Two Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2460 Bullets produced by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were used as masters for the fabrication of replica bullets at the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA). The surface topography of the SRM masters

OVERVIEW OF THE TESTING PROGRAM ON FIBERS USED IN BALLISTIC APPLICATIONS

April 4, 2012
Author(s)
Amanda L. Forster, Haruki Kobayashi, Jae H. Kim, Michael A. Riley, Joy Dunkers, Scott Wight, Kirk D. Rice, Gale A. Holmes
The goal of this paper and presentation is to give an overview of the research effort to date being conducted at the National Institute of Standards and Technology on polymeric fibers used in soft body armor (SBA) and a discussion of future directions. The

Development of Ballistics Identification - From Image Comparison to Topography Measurement in Surface Metrology-

March 22, 2012
Author(s)
Jun-Feng Song, Theodore V. Vorburger, Robert M. Thompson, Thomas Brian Renegar, Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, James H. Yen, Richard M. Silver, Wei Chu
Fired bullets and ejected cartridge cases have unique ballistics signatures left by the firearm. By analyzing the ballistics signatures, forensic examiners can trace these bullets and cartridge cases to the firearm used in a crime scene. Current automated

The National Ballistics Imaging Comparison (NBIC) Project

March 10, 2012
Author(s)
Jun-Feng Song, Theodore V. Vorburger, Susan M. Ballou, Robert M. Thompson, James H. Yen, Thomas Brian Renegar, Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, Richard M. Silver, Martin Ols
In response to the guidelines issued by the ASCLD/LAB-International (American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board) to establish traceability and quality assurance in U.S. crime laboratories, a NIST/ATF joint project

The Effects of Folding on High Strength Fibers Used in Soft Body Armor

January 23, 2012
Author(s)
Haruki Kobayashi, Walter G. McDonough, Joy Dunkers, Jae H. Kim, Hae-Jeong Lee, Scott Wight, Amanda L. Forster, Kirk D. Rice, Gale A. Holmes
Poly (p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers have been used in soft body armor (SBA) because of their high mechanical strength. However, there was an unexpected failure of a first responder's SBA which was composed of PBO fiber that was in service for

The Effect of Folding on the Mechanical Properties and Internal Structures of Fibers Used in Ballistic Applications

July 18, 2011
Author(s)
Haruki Kobayashi, Walter G. McDonough, Hae-Jeong Lee, Jae H. Kim, Amanda L. Forster, Kirk D. Rice, Gale A. Holmes
The failure of a first responder's soft body armor (SBA) composed of poly (p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers has prompted researchers to assess the long-term durability and effectiveness of current and future SBA products. Based on existing data

The Effect of Folding on the Internal Structure of Ballistic Fibers

May 26, 2011
Author(s)
Haruki Kobayashi, Walter G. McDonough, Hae-Jeong Lee, Jae H. Kim, Amanda L. Forster, Kirk D. Rice, Gale A. Holmes
In one of our previous studies, the mechanical properties of poly (p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers were degraded when the fibers were folded. When we examined poly (p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA) fibers, we did not find a similar drop in
Was this page helpful?