Test-Fired Control Panels
Definition
Fabric panels fired at known, measured muzzle-to-target distances using the same or equivalent weapon and ammunition as in the case, processed with the same chemical tests, and used as the comparison reference for estimating the case muzzle distance.
- Material
- Fabric panels
- Method
- Fired at known, measured muzzle distances
- Processing
- Same chemical tests as the case garment
- Use
- Comparison reference for muzzle-distance estimation
Common questions
Why use fabric panels rather than skin simulants?+
Fabric panels closely replicate the case garment's weave and fibre content, which affects how residue deposits and disperses, so matching the case fabric type gives a more accurate distance comparison than a generic simulant would.
What limits the accuracy of this comparison?+
Any deviation between the test fabric and the case garment, such as thickness, weave density, or an intervening layer of clothing, can shift where residue deposits and needs to be accounted for in the final range estimate.
Related terms
- Azo Dye
- A class of organic dyes containing one or more azo groups (R-N=N-R'). Formed in the Griess test by coupling of a diazonium...
- Desensitisation (Griess Protocol)
- The step in the Modified Griess protocol in which background nitrite contamination (from sweat, atmospheric nitrogen, detergent) is removed from the garment...
- Lead-Free Primer
- A primer composition that omits lead styphnate, using DDNP or other compounds, producing no lead from the primer channel during discharge. Examples...
- Modified Griess Test
- A contact-transfer colour chemistry test for nitrite-containing propellant combustion residue. Sulphanilic acid undergoes diazotisation with nitrous acid (from NO2 on the target...
- Powder Tattooing
- Stippling pattern of unburned and partially burned propellant grains embedded in the skin around an entry wound. Cannot be wiped off. Pathognomonic...
- Sodium Rhodizonate
- A chelating agent producing a scarlet-to-red colour with lead ions at acid pH. Applied to entry-wound margins and garment entry holes to...
- Soot (Blackening)
- Submicrometre carbon-rich particles from incomplete propellant combustion, deposited on the garment or skin surface around the entry hole at contact and near-contact...
- Stippling
- Abrasion marks on skin or fabric produced by partially burned propellant grains exiting the muzzle with sufficient velocity to mechanically impact the...