This dissertation consists of five chapters, each of which focuses on various aspects of the forensic discipline of Firearms and Toolmarks. This dissertation for the most part attempts to highlight the exposure of projectiles to blood and the degradation over time of the fine detail, which is necessary for microscopic examination. This study should be of interest to students and qualified role-players in forensic science, the criminal justice system, the law community and the general population globally. Chapter 1 identifies the research problem and the necessary steps that were taken to ensure that the research methodol.ogy applied is relevant and reliable. Chapter 2 focuses on various factors that have to be considered in damage to bullets and investigation procedures that should be followed to ensure that physical evidence is preserved for submitting to a forensic science laboratory. Chapter 3 investigates the degradation effects of fired bullets exposed to various materials in a laboratory environment and the timelines associated with the degradation effects. Chapter 4 evaluates the examination procedures for fired bullets and the contributing factors that may influence the striation marks on bullets needed for microscopic examination. It also examines the scientific method used for firearm identification, and explores the admissibility of physical evidence in a court of law. The final chapter, Chapter 5 discusses the findings and recommendation of this research study. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Otto Scheeloch's U.S. Patent No. 134,442 of 1872 describes a unique firearm that uses triangular bullets. The current research effort evaluates the ballistic performance of Otto's disclosure for the very first time. To achieve this goal it was necessary to seek out surviving artifacts and scour the historical record in search of all the parameters needed to meticulously recreate the curious triangular cartridges and the corresponding gun barrel, with its matching twisted triangular bore. Every aspect of the resulting reproduction ammunition was made to be as authentic as possible, including the use of vintage civil war era bullet lead, bullet grease of period recipe, and the correct type of black powder propellant. 3D CAD (SolidWorksTM) was employed in designing the components, while advanced rapid prototyping (FDM & DMLS) techniques and investment casting were used in the physical construction of the ammunition and barrel. The ballistics testing was performed from a shooting rest over a range of 10-feet. Data was obtained for five rounds using a chronograph, paper targets and ballistic gel. The triangular bullets proved to be surprisingly accurate, consistent, and stable in flight. Data was recorded for sectional density, ballistic coefficient, muzzle velocity and energy, group size and penetration.

Nusikaltimai padaryti panaudojant šaunamuosius ginklus dėl savo pobūdžio ir pavojingumo dažnai sukelia didelį atgarsį visuomenėje. Šių nusikaltimų efektyvesniam išaiškinimui, tyrimo versijų patikrinimui yra būtina operatyvi informacija, kuri yra kaupiama vienoje iš kriminalistinės registracijos sistemos specializuotų įskaitų rūšių – kriminalistinėse kulkų ir tūtelių kolekcijose. Esant nedidelėms kolekcijoms, rankiniu būdu atlikti ginklų, kulkų ir tūtelių patikrinimai pilnai patenkindavo tyrėjų poreikius. Tačiau didėjant kulkų ir tūtelių kolekcijų apimtims, patikrinimų pagal šias kolekcijas skaičiui, legaliai laikomų ginklų skaičiui rankiniu būdu atliekami patikrinimai pagal dideles kulkų ir tūtelių kolekcijas tapo ilgai trunkantys ir tuo pačiu nepakankamai efektyvūs. Vienas iš šios problemos sprendimo būdų yra automatizuotų balistinių identifikacinių sistemų diegimas. Pasaulyje automatizuotos balistinės identifikavimo sistemos buvo pradėtos diegti 1991 metais, o Lietuvoje ji naudojama nuo 2003 metų. Šiame magistro baigiamajame darbe yra apžvelgiama kriminalistinės registracijos sistema ir jos reikšmė nusikaltimų tyrimui. Analizuojama šaunamojo ginklo identifikavimo samprata, šaunamųjų ginklų paliekami pėdsakai ant kulkų ir tūtelių, jų susidarymo mechanizmas, charakteristikos ir identifikacinė reikšmė. Nagrinėjamos automatizuotos balistinės identifikacinės sistemos „DRUGFIRE®“, „IBIS®“, „TAIS“, „EVOFINDER®“, „ARSENAL“, jų paskirtis, veikimo principai, sandara bei galimybės... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Crimes committed by the use of firearms by its nature and danger often lead to repercussions in society. Expeditiously handled information, which is stored in one of specialised registers of a forensic registration system – in forensic collections of bullets and shells, is essential for more effective detection of crimes as well as for verification of hypotesis during investigations. Until such collections were not big, manually performed checks of weapons, bullets and shells fully satisfied the needs of investigators. However, the increase in the extent of bullets and shells collections and in the number of checks in these collections led to prolonged and not sufficiently effective manually performed checks of legally held weapons. One of the ways of dealing with this problem is installation of automated ballistic identification systems. Worldwide automated ballistic identification systems were started being installed in 1991, whereas in Lithuania it has been used since 2003. The system of forensic registration and its importance for crime investigation is reviewed in this graduate study. The concept of firearm identification as well as firearms traces left on bullets and tubes also the mechanism of its formation, characteristics and identification value are analyzed. The automated ballistic identification systems „DRUGFIRE®", "IBIS®", "TAIS", "EVOFINDER®“, „ARSENAL“, their objectives, principles of operation, structures and their potential are analyzed. The bullets and... [to full text]

Les Structures localisées (SLs) apparaissent dans les milieux dissipatifs nonlinéaires ayant un grand rapport d'aspect et où plusieurs solutions coexistent pour la même gamme de paramètres. Elles ont des longueurs de corrélations bien plus courtes que la taille du système ce qui en fait des objets individuellement adressables. Les SLs ont été largement étudiées dans les résonateurs optiques pour leur potentiel dans le traitement tout-optique d'information. Nous focalisons nos recherches sur les structures localisées temporelles obtenues dans un laser à blocage de modes passif. Il s'agit, plus spécifiquement, d'un laser à Cavite Verticale Émettant par la Surface (VCSEL) monté dans une cavité externe délimitée par un Miroir Semiconducteur à Absorption Saturable (SESAM). Nous montrons que les pulses émis par ce système peuvent être individuellement allumés et éteints par le biais d'impulsions électriques dans le courant de pompage. Nous étudions la possibilité de déplacer ces pulses l'un par rapport à l'autre et/ou de reconfigurer leur disposition dans la cavité à l'aide d'une modulation du paramètre de pompage. Ceci nous a permis de découvrir un nouveau paradigme pour la dynamique pour les SLs, jusqu'ici étudiées seulement dans les systèmes à symétrie de parité (systèmes spatiaux et résonateurs à Fibre de (type Kerr). En effet, dans notre système, le temps de réponse fini du milieu semiconducteur introduit la causalité dans la cavité, brisant ainsi la symétrie de parité du système. Ceci a des conséquences très importantes sur la vitesse de propagation des SLs, sur leurs formes et sur leurs interactions. Dans la partie finale de ma thèse, inspiré par le résultat obtenu dans ce système, je m'intéresser à l'implémentationdes SLs spatio-temporelle, aussi appelées Balles de Lumière (BLs). En effet, une version similaire de ce système a servi pour implémenter des SLs dans la section transverse du résonateur, ce qui en fait un bon candidat pour générer des BLs. Nous étudions donc les modifications à apporter pour atteindre ces structures. Les indications obtenues ont suggéré de remplacer le VCSEL par un dispositif similaire mais incapable de laser sans un miroir externe. Ce dispositif, appelé demi-VCSEL ou VECSEL et son SESAM compatible ont été fabriqués par l'Institut d'Electronique et des Systèmes de Montpellier. L'optimisation des caractéristiques de ces dispositifs permet d'atteindre le régime de localisation temporelle, ce qui est un résultat prometteur vers les Balles de Lumière. / Localized Structures (LS) appear in non-linear dissipative mediums with a large aspect ratio and where several solutions coexist for the same range of parameters. They have a correlation length much shorter than the size of the system which makes them individually addressable objects. LS have been widely studied in optical resonators for their potential in all-optic informations processing. We focus our study on Temporal Localized Structures in a Passive Mode-Locked Laser. More specifically, we study a Vertical Cavity SurfaceEmitting Laser (VCSEL) coupled in an external cavity with a Semiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirror (SESAM). We show that pulses emitted by this system can be individually turned on and off using electrical pulses in the bias current. We study the possibility to move those pulses and/or to reconfigure their positions in the cavity thanks to a modulation of the bias current. We were able to discover a new paradigm for the dynamics of LS, studied until now only in system with parity symmetry (spatial system et Kerr fiber resonator). Indeed, in our system, the finite response time of the semiconductor medium brings causality in the cavity, and so breaks the parity symmetry of the system. This fact has important consequences on the LS drifting speed, on their shapes and their interactions. In the last part of my thesis, inspired by the results we obtain in this system, we focus on the implementation of spatio-temporal LS, also called Light Bullet (LB). Indeed, a similar system was used to implement LS in the transverse section of the resonator, so it can be a good candidate to generate LB. So we study the modification needed to obtain those structures. The results suggested to replace the VCESL by a similar device but that can't lase without external mirror. This device, called half-VCSEL or VECSEL, and its compatible SESAM, were design the Institut d'Electronique et des Systèmes of Montpellier. The optimization of the characteristic of those devices allows to get a regime of temporal localization, which is a promising towards the Light Bullets.

yes / Non-lethal weapons (NLWs) are explicitly designed and primarily employed to incapacitate personnel or material whilst minimising collateral damage to property and the environment. Existing NLWs include rubber and plastic bullets, entangling nets, chemical sprays such as OC and CS gas, and electrical stunning devices such as the `Taser¿ gun. New NLWs are on the way, which will include acoustic and microwave weapons, non-lethal landmines, malodorants, and sophisticated weapons developed through rapid advances in neuroscience and the genomics revolution. Most analysts would agree that there is a `legitimate¿ role for non-lethal weapons, both for civil and military applications. However there is considerable disagreement as to the operational effectiveness of NLWs, and the threat such weapons pose to arms conventions and international law. As usual, a balance has to be achieved where the benign advantages of developing and deploying non-lethal weapons are not outweighed by their more malign effects. In particular, emerging non-lethal technologies offer an increasing opportunity for the suppression of civil dissent and control of populations ¿ these are sometimes referred to as the `technologies of political control¿. There is a continuing need for sustained and informed commentary to such developments which highlights the impact and threats that these technologies pose to civil liberties and human rights. Because the last BNLWP Report was produced in August 2001, this edition is somewhat longer than usual so that key developments since then can be highlighted and summarised. Future BNLWRP reports will be published three times a year, and we welcome material to be considered for inclusion.

Η σύγχρονη επιστήμη της εξωτερικής βλητικής έχει εξελιχθεί ως εξειδικευμένος κλάδος της δυναμικής των στερεών σωμάτων, που κινούνται υπό την επίδραση της βαρύτητας και των αεροδυναμικών δυνάμεων και ροπών. Στην παρούσα διατριβή μελετάται η προσομοίωση του δυναμικού μοντέλου ατμοσφαιρικής τροχιάς των 6 βαθμών ελευθερίας (6-DOF), εφαρμόζεται για ακριβή πρόβλεψη τροχιών από διάφορες γωνίες βολής σε μικρά και σε μεγάλα βεληνεκή και γίνεται σύγκριση με το γραμμικό μοντέλο τροχιάς, για περιστρεφόμενα ή μη περιστρεφόμενα βλήματα και σφαίρες λαμβάνοντας υπόψη τον αριθμό Mach και τις μεταβολές της συνολικής γωνίας εκτροπής σε σχέση με τους μεταβλητούς και σταθερούς αεροδυναμικούς συντελεστές. Επίσης, μελετώνται τα δύο είδη ευστάθειας του βλήματος: η στατική ή γυροσκοπική ευστάθεια που αφορά τη στατική θέση ισορροπίας του βλήματος και η δυναμική ευστάθεια που αφορά την κινητική του κατάσταση. Η λύση της διαφορικής εξίσωσης για ολοκληρωμένη ή απλοποιημένη κίνηση περιστρεφόμενων αξονοσυμμετρικών βλημάτων, μπορεί να μας περιγράψει την ακρογωνιαία φύση της επικυκλικής κίνησης των βλημάτων. Τέλος, αναπτύσσεται νέα σχέση υπολογισμού της επίδρασης του φαινόμενου της αεροδυναμικής αναπήδησης της ταχύτητας για περιστρεφόμενα βλήματα τα οποία πυροδοτούνται οριζόντια από μεταβλητές γωνίες, μέσα από ιπτάμενο όχημα (ελικόπτερο, πολεμικό αεροπλάνο). / On the battlefield, it is well known that the target effects using artillery systems diminish exponentially with the number of rounds fired at a particular target. To maximize target effects, rounds must be designed to hit a target with a minimum number of rounds that impact the target in rapid succession. The modern science of the exterior ballistics has evolved as a specialized branch of the dynamics of rigid bodies, moving under the influence of gravitational and aerodynamic forces and moments. The six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) simulation flight dynamics model is applied for the accurate prediction of short and long-range trajectories of high and low fin spin-stabilized projectiles and small bullets. Variable coefficients of aerodynamic forces, moments and Magnus effects are taken into account depending on Mach number and total angle of attack variations. The above analysis is compared to the modified linear modified simulation model for rapid trajectory predictions and high accuracy impact point computations for constant and variable aerodynamic coefficients is also applied for the accurate prediction of short and long range trajectories. The computational results of the proposed synthesized analysis give satisfactory agreement with other technical data and recognized exterior atmospheric projectile flight investigations. The variable modified atmospheric flight model can be further coupled to a suitable trajectory tracking control system for current and future control actions applied to projectiles for minimizing the estimated error to target impact area. Epicyclic motion and gyroscopic stability analysis are also examined for spinning and non-spinning projectiles. A new engineering correlation is proposed for the flat-fire disturbance due to aerodynamic jump performance firing at different angles which relative to the helicopter’s flight path motion. The computational results of the generalized aerodynamic jump formula are verified compared to McCoy’s recognized simulation modelling.