NCJ Number
222157
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2008 Pages: 116-124
Date Published
January 2008
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study determined whether chemical and physical differences in body fillers used by various vehicle manufacturers exist and can be identified.
Abstract
Analysis with fourier transform infrared spectroscopy placed the 33 samples of light-weight automobile body fillers into 5 groups and differentiated 6 samples. Light microscopy placed the samples into one of five color groups. Pyrolysis gas chromatography placed the samples into three groups and differentiated one sample. SEM-EDX placed the samples into 4 groups and differentiated 16 samples. Using these analytical methods, 19 of the 33 samples could be discriminated. If all of the four analytical techniques are not available to examine an unknown body filler or spot putty sample, the authors conclude that the best discriminatory technique is SEM-EDX. The paper provides detailed descriptions of each of the analytical procedures tested. 5 tables, 9 figures, and 3 references