Forensics of Fiber Analysis

Fibers
• A fiber is the smallest unit of a textile material
that has a length many times greater than its
diameter.
• Fibers can occur naturally as plant and animal
fibers, but they can also be man-made.
• A fiber can be spun with other fibers to form a
yarn that can be woven or knitted to form a
fabric.
• The type and length of fiber used, the type of
spinning method, and the type of fabric
construction all affect the transfer of fibers and
the significance of fiber associations.
 Fiber Evidence
• Fibers are gathered at a crime scene with
tweezers, tape, or a vacuum. 
• They generally come from clothing,
drapery, wigs, carpeting, furniture, and
blankets. 
• For analysis, they are first determined to
be natural, manufactured, or a mix of both.
 Fiber Number

• The number of fibers on the clothing of a

victim identified as matching the clothing
of a suspect is important in determining
actual contact.
• The greater the number of fibers, the
more likely that contact actually occurred
between these individuals
 Forensics of Fiber Analysis
• Cross transfers of fiber often occur in cases in
which there is person-to-person contact
• Investigators hope that fiber traceable back to
the offender can be found at the crime scene, as
well as vice versa.
• Success in solving crimes often hinge on the
ability to narrow the sources for the type of fiber
found, as the prosecution did with their
probability theory on the fibers
 Forensic Fiber Analysis
Why would this information be valuable to a forensic
scientist?

Table 1.

• The world produced U.S. Annual Production for Manufactured Fibers: 1995
(millions of pounds)

approximately 80 Fiber Product

billion pounds of fabric Polyester 3,887

in 1995, about half of Nylon 270
which was cotton Olefin 521

• The other Rayon/Acetate/Triace

tate
498
approximately 44 Acrylic/Modacrylic 432
billion pounds of fiber (Table 1 [6]). All these fibers were used in a
were manufactured or variety of applications including but not
synthetic. limited to clothing, household textiles,
carpeting, and industrial textiles.
 Forensic Fiber Analysis
• It could be argued that the large volume of fibers
produced reduces the significance of a fiber
association discovered in a criminal case.
• Considering the volume of textiles produced
worldwide each year, the number of textiles
produced with any one fiber type and color is
extremely small.
• The likelihood of two or more manufacturers
exactly duplicating all of the aspects of the textile
is extremely remote
 Fiber Evidence
• The problem with fiber evidence is that
fibers are not unique. 
• Unlike fingerprints or DNA, they cannot
pinpoint an offender in any definitive
manner. 
• There must be other factors involved, such
as evidence that the fibers can corroborate
or something unique to the fibers that set
them apart.
 Microscopic Examination
• A compound microscope uses light reflected from the
surface of a fiber and magnified through a series of
lenses,
• The comparison microscope (two compound
microscopes joined by an optical bridge) is used for more
precise identification. 
• The phase-contrast microscope, reveals some of the
structure of a fiber.
• Electron microscopes either pass beams through
samples to provide a highly magnified image, or reflect
electrons off the sample's surface. 
• A scanning electron microscope converts the emitted
electrons into a photographic image for display.  This
affords high resolution and depth of focus.
 Spectrometer
• The spectrometer, which separates light into
component wavelengths. 
• every organic element has a uniqueness to its
constituent parts. 
• By passing light through something to produce a
spectrum, the analyst can read the resulting
lines, called "absorption lines." 
• That is, the specific wavelengths are
characteristic of its component molecules of the
substance. 
 Micro-spectrophotometer

• This microscope locates minute traces or shows

how light interacts with the material under
analysis. 
• Linking this to a computerized
spectrophotometer increases the accuracy.
•   The scientist can get both a magnified visual
and an infrared pattern at the same time, which
increases the number of identifying
characteristics of any given material.
Natural Fibers vs Manufactured
• Natural fibers come from plants (cotton) or
animals (wool). 
• Manufactured fibers are synthetics like
rayon, acetate, and polyester, which are
made from long chains of molecules called
polymers. 
 Natural Fibers
• Many different natural
fibers originating from
plants and animals are
used in the production of
fabric.
• Cotton fibers are the plant
fibers most commonly
used in textile materials Cotton fibers
• the type of cotton, fiber
length, and degree of twist
contributing to the diversity
of these fibers.
 Other plant fibers
• Flax (linen), ramie, sisal,
jute, hemp, kapok, and
coir.
• The identification of less
common plant fibers at
a crime scene or on the
clothing of a suspect or
victim would have Flax fibers viewed with
increased significance. polarized light
 Animal Fiber: Wool
• Wool is the most
frequently used in the
production of textile
materials
• and the most common
wool fibers originate from
sheep.
• Finer woolen fibers are
used in the production of
clothing
• coarser fibers are found in
carpet. Wool fibers
• Fiber diameter and
degree of scale protrusion
of the fibers are other
important characteristics.
 Other Animal Fibers
• Although sheep's wool is most common,
woolen fibers from other animals may also
be found.
• These include camel, alpaca, cashmere,
mohair, and others.
• The identification of less common animal
fibers at a crime scene or on the clothing
of a suspect or victim would have
increased significance.
 Man-Made Fibers
• More than half of all fibers used in the
production of textile materials are
man-made.
• Some man-made fibers originate from
natural materials such as cotton or
wood;
• others originate from synthetic
materials.
• Polyester and nylon fibers are the
most commonly encountered man-
made fibers, followed by acrylics,
rayons, and acetates. Cross section of man-
• There are also many other less made fibers
common man-made fibers.
• The amount of production of a
particular man-made fiber and its end
use influence the degree of rarity of a
given fiber.
 Federal Trade Commission Rules and Regulations
Under the Textile Products Identification Act, 1954
Generic names for manufactured fibers
• Acetate
•Novoloid
• Acrylic
•Olefin
• Anidex
•
•Polyester
Aramid
• Glass
•Rayon
• Lyocel
•Saran
• Nylon •Spandex
• Metallic •Vinal
• Modacrylic •Vinyon
 Man-Made Fibers
• The cross section of a man-
made fiber can be
manufacturer-specific
• Some cross sections are
more common than others,
and some shapes may only
be produced for a short
period of time.
• Unusual cross sections
encountered through
examination can add
increased significance to a
fiber association.
Cross-sectional views of nylon carpet
fibers as seen with a scanning electron
microscope (SEM)
 Fiber Forensics
• Generally, the analyst gets only a limited
number of fibers to work with—sometimes
only one.
• Whatever has been gathered from the
crime scene is then compared against
fibers from a suspect source, such as a
car or home
• Fibers are laid side by side for visual
inspection through a microscope.
 Important Considerations
• An is the length of time between the actual
physical contact and the collection of clothing
items from the suspect or victim.
• If the victim is immobile, very little fiber loss will
take place, whereas the suspect's clothing will
lose transferred fibers quickly.
• The likelihood of finding transferred fibers on the
clothing of the suspect a day after the alleged
contact may be remote, depending on the
subsequent use or handling of that clothing.
 Steps of Fiber Analysis
• The first step in fiber analysis is to
compare color and diameter. 
• Dyes can also be further analyzed with
chromatography, which uses solvents to
separate the dye's chemical constituents. 
 Fiber Color
• Color influences the value given to a particular fiber identification.
• Often several dyes are used to give a fiber a desired color.
• Individual fibers can be colored prior to being spun into yarns.
• Yarns can be dyed, and fabrics made from them can be dyed.
• Color can also be applied to the surface of fabric, as found in
printed fabrics.
• How color is applied and absorbed along the length of the fiber are
important comparison characteristics.
• Color-fading and discoloration can also lend increased value to a
fiber association.
 Microscopy

• Fibers should be first examined with a

stereomicroscope. Physical features such as
crimp, length, color, relative diameter, luster,
apparent cross section, damage, and adhering
debris should be noted.
• Fibers are then tentatively classified into broad
groups such as synthetic, natural, or inorganic. If
the sample contains yarns, threads, or sections
of fabric, construction should be recorded
Illumination and Magnification
• Comparisons should be made under the same
illumination conditions at the same
magnifications.
• For comparison microscopes, this requires color
balancing the light sources.
• This is best achieved with two fibers or fiber
samples from the same source mounted on two
microscope slides, which are then compared.
• A balanced neutral background color is optimal.
 Side-by-Side Comparisons.
• If all of the characteristics are the same under
the stereoscope, the next step is to examine the
fibers with a comparison microscope.
• This side-by-side and point-by-point examination
is the best technique to discriminate between
fibers, especially those that appear to be similar.
• The physical characteristics of the must be
compared visually with the comparison
microscope to determine if they are the same in
the known and questioned samples.
• Photography is recommended to capture the
salient features for later demonstration.
 Summary of Steps of Fiber
Analysis
• In short, the fiber analyst compares shape,
dye content, size, chemical composition,
and microscopic appearances, yet all of
this is still about "class evidence.“
•  Even if fibers from two separate places
can be matched via comparison, that does
not mean they derive from the same
source, and there is no fiber database that
provides a probability of origin.
• Fiber Location
• Where fibers are found also affects the
value placed on a particular fiber
association. The location of fibers on
different areas of the body or on specific
items at the crime scene influences the
significance of the fiber association.