Correlation of Topography Measurements of NIST SRM 2460 Standard Bullets by Four Techniques

• NCJ Number: 310173
• Author(s): J. Song; T. Vorburger; T. Renegar; H. Rhee; A. Zheng; L. Ma; Et Al
• Date Published: January 2006
• Grant Number(s): 2003-IJ-R-029
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
• Corporate Author: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Appears in Measurement Science and Technology, Volume 17, Number 3, 500

Annotation

This article reports on the methodology and results from a comparison of four techniques for bullet profile signature measurements, noting that findings suggest the potential for using surface topography techniques for ballistic identifications as an alternative to the current technology which is based on image comparisons.

Abstract

Three optical instruments including an interferometric microscope, a Nipkow disc confocal microscope and a laser scanning confocal microscope and a stylus instrument are used for the measurements of bullet profile signatures of a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2460 standard bullet. The two-dimensional profile signatures are compared with the virtual bullet standard signature established by the same stylus instrument. The bullet signature differences are quantified by the maximum cross-correlation function CCF_max. If the compared signatures were exactly the same, CCF_max would be 100 percent. Comparison results show close agreement among the four techniques for bullet profile signature measurements. The average CCF_max values are higher than 90 percent. This supports the possibility of using surface topography techniques for ballistic identifications as an alternative to the current technology based on image comparisons. (Published Abstract Provided)