Toward a Predictive Assessment of Stab-Penetration Forces.

Collaborative research between the disciplines of forensic pathology and biomechanics was undertaken to investigate the hyperelastic properties of human skin, to determine the force required for sharp instrument penetration of skin, and to develop a finite element model, which reflects the mechanisms of sharp instrument penetration. These studies have led to the development of a "stab metric," based on simulations, to describe the force magnitudes in stabbing incidents. Such a metric should, in time, replace the crudely quantitative descriptors of stabbing forces currently used by forensic pathologists.

A combined experimental and numerical study of stab-penetration forces.

The magnitude of force used in a stabbing incident can be difficult to quantify, although the estimate given by forensic pathologists is often seen as 'critical' evidence in medico-legal situations. The main objective of this study is to develop a quantitative measure of the force associated with a knife stabbing biological tissue, using a combined experimental and numerical technique. A series of stab-penetration tests were performed to quantify the force required for a blade to penetrate skin at various speeds and using different 'sharp' instruments.

An investigation into the correlation of knife damage in clothing and the lengths of skin wounds.

In determining the possibility that a specific weapon was responsible for a specific injury it is often valuable to examine the damage marks left on any clothing worn by a victim. Correlating this damage both to the skin and clothing with the dimensions of the suspect weapon (if available) may help in determining these possibilities. In this work four different types of knives were used to produce damage marks on various different fabrics both stretched and loose over skin.