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A chronological synopsis of the history of the technology used in experimental and testing work relating to artillery pieces is presented. The period covered is from the mid-seventeenth century up ...

Few firearms have attracted as much attention, curiosity, and mythical attributes as the blunderbuss. Indeed, it often seems that fiction has overwhelmed the facts. To add to the mystery, the liter...

Firearm-related exhibits are often found at crime scenes. These exhibits may include the firearm, cartridges, cartridges cases or bullets. As ammunition needs to be handled to load the weapon, rega...

This paper investigates the firing of seventeenth Century musket balls. Prior to this research, the main concerns with making range predictions were associated with the deformed shape of the musket balls affecting their drag coefficient and therefore their distance to ground impact. However, the distance due to bounce and roll after initial impact has been unknown. In this work, the distance travelled after the first ground impact greatly exceeded expectations, with the musket balls approximately doubling the distance to their final resting positions. From these findings the initial factors thought to have had high relevance to the final resting position of the musket ball (velocity variation and drag co-efficient) become less significant and factors such as ground hardness become more prominent. The knowledge gained during this investigation will allow more accurate information to be obtained on the firing positions of opposing forces during conflicts in the English Civil War.

The addition of nanofillers in high-performance reinforcement results in the formation of hybrid composites. The objective of this research is to determine the effect of silica nanofillers loading ...

Olympic target archery is a precision mechanic sports. It consists in shooting at a 122 centimetres target set 70 metres away with a recurve bow. The target is composed of ten concentric circles. T...

This study employs a structural contingency theory framework to assess the influence of the formal organizational structure of crime laboratories and their environments, on the productivity of labs’ ballistics imaging systems. We contribute to the nascent evolution of organizational focus in forensics while exploring different ways in which overall lab performance can be conceptualized. We analyze data provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN), and data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, 2009. Three Negative Binomial models regressed the organizational and environmental variables on the productivity of crime labs, operationalized as their ability to produce bullet, brass, and total hits. Results indicate that in addition to the number of bullet and brass inputs, local labs are more productive in identifying ballistics imaging hits. Additionally, lar...

The Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratories, Mumbai-India, has been receiving and examining homemade/desi-katta/improvised firearms for a long time. In all these cases, our work is always focu...

Forensic ballistics a core field of forensic science, and focuses on locating the point and time of firing as well as matching the bullet to a specific firearm. The paper proposes a model for legal...

Effective structural design to resist ballistic effects such as small arms or fragmenting weapons has been a goal since weapons were developed. Approaches currently in use for ballistic design are predominantly deterministic and allow designers to decide what wall thickness should be used to stop a prescribed projectile impacting at a predefined velocity. The research presented in this paper provides a framework for conducting reliability analysis of structures subjected to bullet and fragment demands. Thus, pseudo-fragility curves are developed for the limit states related to spall and perforation of wall panels, residual velocities of bullets and fragments, and injury to personnel. The pseudo-fragility analysis provides engineers and owners with a tool to quickly assess the reliability of a wall system subjected to high velocity, low mass projectiles. In particular, the proposed analysis method allows designers and owners to determine the probability of spall and perforation, residual velocity, ...

While the use of ballistics data and principles to clarify historical experience of firearms is to be encouraged, their application is not always straightforward. This paper emphasizes the need for care. An example is given of too sanguine reliance on period studies, specifically of muzzle velocity, and of inadequate appreciation of the physics, in particular of the Magnus force.

We use a case study approach to explore the facilitators and impediments to effectively using forensics ballistics imaging technology to improve police investigations in a developing country. The study site, Trinidad and Tobago, a nation located in the Caribbean basin, was experiencing a homicide epidemic during the time of this study. The homicide epidemic involved the repeated use of a limited number of firearms, conditions that are ideal for ballistics imaging technology. This nation also possessed a professionalized forensic crime lab and advanced ballistic imaging technology. The analysis reveals that the effective use of ballistics imaging was impeded by inefficient processes and backlogs at the national crime lab, time delays in identifying ballistics hits, and an inefficient system of transmitting hit reports to police investigators. In sum, organizational arrangements in the forensic crime lab and police in the focal country blunted the effectiveness of a proven forensic technology.