Prediction of blood back spatter from a gunshot in bloodstain pattern analysis

Thumbnail Image
Date
2016-08-01
Authors
Comiskey, P.
Yarin, A.
Kim, S.
Attinger, Daniel
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Person
Attinger, Daniel
Associate Professor
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Organizational Unit
Mechanical Engineering
The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State University is where innovation thrives and the impossible is made possible. This is where your passion for problem-solving and hands-on learning can make a real difference in our world. Whether you’re helping improve the environment, creating safer automobiles, or advancing medical technologies, and athletic performance, the Department of Mechanical Engineering gives you the tools and talent to blaze your own trail to an amazing career.
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Abstract

A theoretical model for predicting and interpreting blood-spatter patterns resulting from a gunshot wound is proposed. The physical process generating a backward spatter of blood is linked to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability of blood accelerated toward the surrounding air, allowing the determination of the initial distribution of drop sizes and velocities. Then the motion of many drops in air is considered with governing equations accounting for gravity and air drag. Based on these equations, a numerical solution is obtained. It predicts the atomization process, the trajectories of the back-spatter drops of blood from the wound to the ground, the impact angle, and the impact Weber number on the ground, as well as the distribution and location of bloodstains and their shape and sizes. A parametric study is undertaken to predict patterns of backward blood spatter under realistic conditions corresponding to the experiments conducted in the present work. The results of the model are compared to the experimental data on back spatter generated by a gunshot impacting a blood-impregnated sponge.

Comments

This article is published as Comiskey, P. M., A. L. Yarin, S. Kim, and D. Attinger. "Prediction of blood back spatter from a gunshot in bloodstain pattern analysis." Physical Review Fluids 1, no. 4 (2016): 043201. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevFluids.1.043201. Posted with permission.

Description
Keywords
Citation
DOI
Copyright
Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2016
Collections