Forensic Engineering 2012

2012 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 605-608
Author(s):  
Walter Rowe

At the beginning of a new millennium it seems a good idea to stop for a moment and take stock of the current state of forensic science. As a field of scientific research and scientific application, forensic science is a little more than a century old. Forensic science may be said to have begun in 1887 with the simultaneous publication of A. Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet and Hans Gross’s Handbuch für Untersuchungsrichter. Conan Doyle’s novel introduced to the world the character of Sherlock Holmes, whose literary career would popularize the use of physical evidence in criminal investigations. Gross’s manual for examining magistrates suggests ways in which the expertise of chemists, biologists, geologists, and other natural scientists could contribute to investigations. Gross’s book was translated into a number of languages and went through various updated editions during the course of the century. The intervening century saw the development and application of fingerprinting, firearm and tool mark identification, forensic chemistry, forensic biology, forensic toxicology, forensic odontology, forensic pathology, and forensic engineering. Increasingly, the judicial systems of the industrial nations of the world have come to rely upon the expertise of scientists in a variety of disciplines. In most advanced countries, virtually all criminal prosecutions now involve the presentation of scientific testimony. This has had the beneficial effect of diminishing the reliance of courts on eyewitness testimony and defendant confessions.


Author(s):  
Lindley Manning

The purpose of this paper is to inform the Academy of an application of computer graphics that has been successful in the court room and which has the potential for extension to many related needs of the forensic engineer. An additional purpose is to examine the possibility of cooperation within the Academy to make a broad database and selection of equipment available to the members. Attentive engineers of today are well aware of the growing use and impact of computer-aided drafting, design and analysis in a wide variety of industries. In our field, we are aware of large analysis programs which have been used with success in court, for example the CRASH series. The authors forensic engineering partnership has developed ways to utilize the more widely available drafting systems to inexpensively fill the gap between photographic evidence and full engineering drawings. We have also found that CAD drawings appear to have more impact in court than hand done drawings. In some cases


Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Saczalski ◽  
Eugene B. Loverich

Abstract Forensic engineering problems are reviewed to demonstrate how vibration analysis methods can be utilized in certain instances to determine cause of system failures and injury mechanics associated with certain vehicular accidents. A brief overview of injury criteria and biomechanical analysis methods for evaluation of motor vehicle occupant kinematics induced by shock impact loadings is also included.


Author(s):  
Joel T. Hicks

Basic mathematics for computing crush coefficients from test data is presented. This information is supplemented with computer code for CRASH and SMAC coefficients resulting form both rigid and movable barrier tests. Original CRASH3 crush data, supplemented by NHTSA test data through 1984, is tabulated and analyzed using a variety of logical and mathematical methods. The work is an extension of an analysis begun by Engineering Dynamics in 1987, where their filtered data has been grouped for observation. By understanding the data obtained in this earlier period of testing, the Forensic Engineer is better able to understand and use the information developed during almost ten years of subsequent testing.


Author(s):  
Joshua B. Kardon

<p>Professional engineers in the US may be found negligent and therefore liable for damages arising from failure to exercise a level of care, diligence, and skill exercised by other reputable practitioners in similar circumstances in an effort to accomplish the purpose for which the professional engineer was hired. If the professional engineer has accepted the obligation to design for sustainability or durability, or where materials, elements, or assemblies are intended by design to be “pushed to their limits” in normal service, the professional engineer may be accepting an extreme or uninsurable risk.</p><p>The subject of this paper is the standard of care and the relationship between the standard of care and design for sustainability or durability, or design where the engineered features are expected to be “pushed to their limits” in normal service. The paper’s contents include 1) an explanation of the concept of the standard of care, and 2) the professional liability pitfalls inherent in a design effort intended to result in sustainability or durability, or intended to achieve limit-state behavior in normal service. The subject is relevant for practitioners wishing to understand professional responsibilities for such designs.</p>


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