As illustrated in literature, ballistics is a branch of theoretical mechanics, which studies the construction and working principles of firearms and ammunition, their effects, as well as the motions of projectiles and bullets¹. Criminalistics identification, as part of judiciary identification represents an activity aimed at finding common traits of different objects, objectives, phenomena and beings, but more importantly, traits that differentiate each of them from similar ones^2-4.

In judicial ballistics, in the case of rifled firearms it is relatively simple for experts to identify the used weapon from traces left on the projectile, as the rifling of the barrel leaves imprints on the bullet, which remain approximately identical even after the respective weapon is fired 100 times with the same barrel. However, in the case of smoothbore firearms, their identification becomes much more complicated. As the firing cap suffers alterations from being hit by the firing pin, determination of the force generated during impact creates the premises for determining the type of firearm used to shoot the respective cartridge. The present paper proposes a simple impact model that can be used to evaluate the force generated by the firing pin during its impact with the firing cap. The present research clearly showed that each rifle, by the combination of the three investigated parameters (impact force maximum value, its variation diagram, and impact time) leave a unique trace. Application of such a method in ballistics can create the perspectives for formulating clear conclusions that eliminate possible judicial errors in this field.

Date Published: 14 December 2016
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 10010, Advanced Topics in Optoelectronics, Microelectronics, and Nanotechnologies VIII, 1001031 (14 December 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2246111

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10010:
Advanced Topics in Optoelectronics, Microelectronics, and Nanotechnologies VIII
Marian Vladescu; Cornel T. Panait; Razvan Tamas; George Caruntu; Ionica Cristea, Editor(s)