Abstract
The interpretation of bloodstain patterns at crime scenes has received increased attention in recent years. Important to an understanding of this is knowledge of the fundamentals of blood droplet formation and impact dynamics. A review of the literature reveals that a considerable amount of work has been done with aqueous drop dynamics. Workers in the forensic science area seem to have been unaware of this. In addition, some of the most important and comprehensive early work with blood droplet dynamics seems to have been forgotten. It is not cited in more recent publications dealing with bloodstain pattern interpretation. This literature is reviewed and discussed as well. The present study presents results of experiments with blood droplet dynamics and high-speed photographs of blood droplet impacts on stationary target surfaces. Some longstanding misconceptions of importance to forensic scientists engaged in crime scene reconstruction are discussed.
Issue Section:
Research Papers
References
1.
Gross
, H.
, Handbuch fur Untersuchungsrichter, Polizeibeamte, Gendarmen u.s.w.
, 2nd ed., Leuschner & Lubensky
, Graz
, 1894
.2.
Kirk
, P. L.
, “Blood—a Neglected Criminalistics Research Area
,” Law Enforcement Science and Technology
, Vol. 1
, Academic Press
, London
, 1967
, pp. 267
-272
.3.
Thorwald
, J.
, Crime and Science
, Harcourt, Brace and World
, New York
, 1967
, p. 24.4.
Balthazard
, V.
, Piedelievre
, R.
, Desoille
, H.
, and Derobert
, L.
, “Etude des Gouttes de Sang Projete
,” Annales De Medecene Legale de Criminologue Police Scientifique, Medecene Sociale, et Toxicologie
, Vol. 19
, 1939
, pp. 265
-323
.5.
Kirk
, P. L.
, Crime Investigation
, Interscience Publishers, Inc.
, New York
, 1953
, pp. 176
-180
.6.
Kirk
, P. L
, Affidavit Regarding State of Ohio vs. Samuel H. Sheppard
, Court of Common Pleas, Criminal Branch, No. 64571
, 26
04
1955
.7.
MacDonell
, H. L.
and Bialousz
, L. F.
, Flight Characteristics and Stain Patterns of Human Blood
, U.S. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
, Washington, DC
, 1971
.8.
MacDonell
, H. L.
, “Interpretation of Bloodstains: Physical Considerations
,” Legal Medicine Annual, 1971
, C.
Wecht
, Ed., Appleton-Century Crofts
, New York
, 1971
.9.
Laber
, T. L.
and Epstein
, B. P.
, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
, Callen Publishing, Inc.
, Minneapolis, MN
, 1983
.10.
De Forest
, P. R.
, Gaensslen
, R. E.
, and Lee
, H. C.
, Forensic Science: An Introduction to Criminalistics
, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
, New York
, 1983
, pp. 295
-308
.11.
MacDonell
, H. L.
and Bialousz
, L. F.
, Laboratory Manual on the Geometric Interpretation of Human Bloodstain Evidence
, Laboratory of Forensic Science
, Painted Post, NY
, 1973
.12.
Lenard
, P.
, “Uber Regen.
,” Meteorologische Zeitschrift
, Vol. 21
, No. 6
, 06
1904
, pp. 248
-262
.13.
Flower
, W. D.
, “The Terminal Velocity of Drops
,” Proceedings of the Physical Society, (London)
, Vol. 40
, 1928
, pp. 167
-176
.14.
Edgerton
, H. E.
and Killian
, J. R.
, Flash! Seeing the Unseen by Ultra-High Speed Photography
, Hale, Cushman and Flint
, Boston
, 1939
.15.
Gunn
, R.
and Kinzer
, G. D.
, “The Terminal Velocity of Fall for Water Droplets in Stagnant Air
,” Journal of Meteorology
0095-9634 https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1949)006<0243:TTVOFF>2.0.CO;2, Vol. 6
, No. 4
, 08
1949
, pp. 243
-248
.16.
Blanchard
, D. C.
, “The Behavior of Water Drops at Terminal Velocity in Air
,” Transactions of the American Geophysical Union
, Vol. 31
, No. 6
, 12
1950
, pp. 836
-842
.17.
Magono
, C.
, “On the Shape of Water Drops Falling in Stagnant Air
,” Journal of Meteorology
0095-9634, Vol. 11
, No. 1
, 02
1954
, pp. 77
-79
.18.
MacDonald
, J. E.
, “The Shape of Raindrops
,” Scientific American
0036-8733, Vol. 190
, No. 2
, 02
1954
, pp. 64
-68
.19.
Adam
, J. R.
, Lindblad
, N. R.
, and Hendricks
, C. D.
, “The Collision, Coalescence, and Distribution of Water Droplets
,” Journal of Applied Physics
0021-8979 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1655940, Vol. 39
, No. 11
, 10
1968
, pp. 5173
-5180
.20.
Kinnel
, P. I. A.
, “The Acoustic Measurement of Water Drop Impacts
,” Journal of Applied Meteorology
0894-8763, Vol. 11
, No. 4
, 06
1972
, pp. 691
-694
.21.
Spengler
, J. D.
and Gokhale
, N. R.
, “Drop Impactions
,” Journal of Applied Meteorology
0894-8763 https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1973)012<0316:DI>2.0.CO;2, Vol. 12
, No. 2
, 03
1973
, pp. 316
-321
.22.
List
, R.
, Low
, T. B.
, and McTaggart-Cowan
, J. D.
, “Collisions of Raindrops with Chaff
,” Journal of Applied Meteorology
0894-8763, Vol. 13
, No. 7
, 10
1974
, pp. 796
-799
.23.
Ford
, D. M.
, Impact Spreading Of Aqueous Drops
, Doctoral dissertation, University of Nottingham
, England, 1974
.24.
Elliott
, T. A.
and Ford
, D. M.
, “Dynamic Contact Angles
,” Journal of the Chemical Society
0368-1769, Vol. 68
, No. 10
, 10
1972
, pp. 1814
-1823
.25.
Foote
, G. B.
, “The Water Drop Rebound Problem: Dynamics of Collision
,” Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
0022-4928 https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1975)032<0390:TWDRPD>2.0.CO;2, Vol. 32
, No. 2
, 02
1975
, pp. 390
-402
.26.
McTaggart-Cowan
, J. D.
and List
, R.
, “Collision and Break-up of Water Drops at Terminal Velocity
,” Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
0022-4928, Vol. 32
, No. 7
, 07
1975
, pp. 1401
-1411
.27.
Green
, A. W.
, “An Approximation for the Shapes of Large Raindrops
,” Journal of Applied Meteorology
0894-8763, Vol. 14
, No. 8
, 12
1975
, pp. 1578
-1583
.28.
Ryan
, R. T.
, “The Behavior of Large, Low Surface Tension Water Drops Falling at Terminal Velocity in Air
,” Journal of Applied Meteorology
0894-8763, Vol. 15
, No. 2
, 02
1976
, pp. 157
-165
.29.
Gonor
, A. L.
and Yakovlev
, V. Y.
, “Impact of a Drop on a Solid Surface
,” translated from Izvestiva Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza
, No. 5
, pp. 151
-155
, Sept./Oct. 1977 in Fluid Dynamics.30.
Adler
, W. F.
, “Liquid Drop Collisions on Deformable Media
,” Journal of Materials Science
0022-2461 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02426864, Vol. 12
, No. 6
, 06
1977
, pp. 1253
-1271
.31.
Lock
, J. A.
, “The Physics of Air Resistance
,” The Physics Teacher
, Vol. 20
, No. 3
, 03
1982
, pp. 158
-160
.32.
Bevel
, T.
, “Geometric Bloodstain Interpretation
,” F.B.I. Law Enforcement Bulletin
, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs
, Vol. 52
, No. 5, 05
1983
, pp. 7
-10
.33.
Adamson
, A.
, Physical Chemistry of Surfaces
, 2nd ed., Interscience, Wiley
, New York
, 1967
, pp. 21
-41
.34.
Davies
, J. T.
and Rideal
, E. K.
, Interfacial Phenomena
, 2nd ed., Academic Press
, New York
, 1963
, p. 44.35.
Stephens
, B. G.
and Allen
, T. B.
, “Backspatter of Blood from Gunshot Wounds—Observations and Experimental Simulation
,” Journal of Forensic Sciences
0022-1198, Vol. 28
, No. 2
, 04
1983
, pp. 437
-439
.36.
Carroll
, K.
and Mesler
, R.
, “Splashing Liquid Drops Form Vortex Rings and Not Jets at Low Froude Numbers
,” Journal of Applied Physics
0021-8979 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.328438, Vol. 52
, No. 1
, 01
1981
, p. 507.37.
Ching
, B.
, Golay
, M. W.
, and Johnson
, T. J.
, “Droplet Impacts on Liquid Surfaces
,” Science
1095-9203, Vol. 226
, No. 2
, 02
11
1984
, pp. 535
-537
.38.
Hobbs
, R. L.
, “The Impression to Drop Size Ratio for the Raindrop Foil Impactor
,” Journal of Applied Meteorology
0894-8763, Vol. 20
, No. 3
, 03
1981
, pp. 301
-308
.39.
Stow
, C. D.
and Hadfield
, M. G.
, “An Experimental Investigation of Fluid Flow Resulting from the Impact of a Water Drop with an Unyielding Dry Surface
,” Proceedings of the Royal Society, London
, Vol. 373
, No. 1755
, 1981
, pp. 419
-441
.
This content is only available via PDF.
All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced or copied, in whole or in part, in any printed, mechanical, electronic, film, or other distribution and storage media, without the written consent of ASTM International.
You do not currently have access to this content.
