Forensic Comparison of Automotive Aluminum Wheel Fragments Using Synchrotron Radiation X‐ray Fluorescence with 18‐ and 116‐keV Excitation X‐rays |
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Authors: | Yoshinori Nishiwaki PhD Tomohiro Takekawa MS |
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Institution: | 1. Faculty of Education, Kochi University, 2‐5‐1 Akebono‐cho, Kochi‐shi, Kochi, 780‐8520 JapanCorresponding author: Yoshinori Nishiwaki, Ph.D. E‐mail:;2. Faculty of Education, Kochi University, 2‐5‐1 Akebono‐cho, Kochi‐shi, Kochi, 780‐8520 Japan |
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Abstract: | The performance of synchrotron radiation X‐ray fluorescence (SR‐XRF) spectrometry for nondestructive discrimination of small fragments of automotive aluminum wheels was studied. Fragments (< 500 × 500 μm2) of 45 kinds of wheels were first analyzed by scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS) and then by SR‐XRF. Despite the Mg/Al intensity ratio being a useful identification index, SEM‐EDS was not efficient enough because of the absence of other meaningful indicators of comparison. Conversely, pairwise comparison was conducted and a 92.9% identification was achieved via SR‐XRF using 18‐keV X‐rays. Trace heavy elements in the high‐energy region were detected by SR‐XRF using 116‐keV X‐rays, and an 82.9% identification was obtained. Combined use of 18‐ and 116‐keV X‐rays allowed 98.2% identification. Hence, SR‐XRF is a powerful tool for nondestructive discrimination of automotive aluminum wheels with high precision using trace elements in a wide energy region. |
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Keywords: | forensic science nondestructive discrimination automotive aluminum wheel synchrotron radiation X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry trace element |
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