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.

Search Publications

NIST Authors in Bold

Displaying 1 - 25 of 57

Automated interpretation of firearm mark comparison results

December 13, 2023
Author(s)
Martin Baiker-Sorensen, Ivo Alberink, Laura Granell, Leen van der Ham, Erwin J.A.T. Mattijssen, Erich Smith, Johannes A. Soons, Peter Vergeer, Xiaoyu Alan Zheng
In this article an automated approach for interpretation of firearm mark comparison results is presented. First, similarity scores are derived for marks typically encountered on primers of fired cartridge cases: aperture shear striations as well as

Surveying Practicing Firearm Examiners

April 20, 2022
Author(s)
Nicholas Scurich, Brandon Garrett, Robert M. Thompson
The comparison of discharged bullets and shell casings by firearm examiners is one of the most conducted forensic analyses. However, little is known empirically about how practicing firearm examiners view and conduct their work, the range of conclusions

Firearm examination: Examiner judgments and computer-based comparisons

September 24, 2020
Author(s)
Erwin J. Mattijssen, Cilia Witteman, Charles Berger, Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, Johannes A. Soons, Reinoud Stoel
Forensic firearm examination provides the court of law with information about the source of fired cartridge cases. We assessed the validity of source decisions of a computer-based method and of 73 firearm examiners who compared breechface and firing pin

NIST Ballistics Toolmark Research Database

January 27, 2020
Author(s)
Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, Johannes A. Soons, Robert M. Thompson, Sushama P. Singh, Cerasela Constantin
In 2009, a report by the National Academies called into question, amongst other issues, the objectivity of visual toolmark identification by firearms examiners. The National Academies recommended development of objective toolmark identification criteria

Pilot Study on Deformed Bullet Correlation

January 1, 2020
Author(s)
Zhe Chen, Jun-Feng Song, Johannes A. Soons, Robert M. Thompson, Xuezeng Zhao
Most studies on bullet identification address test fire bullet that have near pristine striation marks on the land engraved areas (LEAs). However, in case work, bullets found at a crime scene may be severely deformed or fragmented. The resulting missing

Addressing Quality Assurance Issues in 3D Firearm and Toolmark Imaging

April 1, 2018
Author(s)
Michael T. Stocker, Robert M. Thompson, Johannes A. Soons, Thomas B. Renegar, Xiaoyu A. Zheng
The emerging capability for measuring and analyzing the three-dimensional (3D) surface topography of forensic samples is expected to have a profound impact on firearm and toolmark identification. As forensic laboratories are working to integrate 3D

Nanostructural Evidence of Mechanical Aging and Performance Loss in Ballistic Fibers

September 29, 2017
Author(s)
John Howarter, Ming Liu, Walter G. McDonough, Christopher Soles, Gale A. Holmes
It is understood that the ballistic resistance of aromatic polyamide fibers is related to the fiber's ultimate tensile strength, strain-to-failure, and Young's modulus. Ideal high-performance ballistic materials maximize these properties while minimizing

NIST Ballistics Toolmark Research Database

December 5, 2016
Author(s)
Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, Johannes A. Soons, Robert M. Thompson
The NIST Ballistics Toolmark Research Database (NBTRD) is an open-access research database of bullet and cartridge case toolmark data. The development of the database is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice. The

An Investigation of the Temperature and Strain-Rate Effects on Strain-to-Failure of UHMWPE Fibers

October 18, 2016
Author(s)
Don Jenket II, Amanda L. Forster, Nicholas G. Paulter Jr., Tusit Weerasooriya, Carey A. Gunnarsson, Mohamad Al-Sheikhly
During a ballistic impact, Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers are subjected to high temperatures and high strain-rates. Their tensile strength increases with increasing strain-rate and decreases with increasing temperature. To

Topography measurements and applications in ballistics and tool mark identifications

December 17, 2015
Author(s)
Theodore V. Vorburger, Jun-Feng Song, Nicholas D. Petraco
The application of surface topography measurement methods to the field of firearm and toolmark analysis is fairly new. The field has been boosted by the development of a number of competing optical methods which has improved the speed and accuracy of

Analysis of the Boundary Conditions of the Spline Filter

July 21, 2015
Author(s)
D Ott, Hao H. Zhang, Daniel B. Ott, Xuezeng Zhao, Jun-Feng Song
The spline filter is a standard linear profile filter recommended by ISO/TS 16610-22 (2006). The primary advantage of the spline filter is that no end-effects occur as a result of the filter. The ISO standard also provides the tension parameter β=0.62524

A simple and fast spline filtering algorithm for surface metrology

July 14, 2015
Author(s)
Hao H. Zhang, Daniel B. Ott, Jun-Feng Song, D Ott, Wei Chu
The spline filters and the corresponding robust filters are commonly used filters recommended in ISO standards for surface evaluation. Generally, these linear and non-linear spline filters, composed of symmetric, positive-definite matrices, are always

The Testing Program at NIST on Fibers Used in Soft Body Armor Applications

March 21, 2015
Author(s)
Walter G. McDonough, Amanda L. Forster, Jae Hyun Kim, Nathanael A. Heckert, Joy P. Dunkers, Scott A. Wight, Gale A. Holmes
The goal of this paper and presentation is to give an update of the research effort to date being conducted at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on polymeric fibers used in soft body armor with a special emphasis on new fibers under

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
Displaying 1 - 25 of 57