Current research supports the use of statistical methods in forensic science to analyze Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) data for identifying polyvinyl chloride (PVC) electrical tape used in the construction of explosive devices. For this project FTIR data is collected for both the adhesive and backing sides of multiple rolls of black PVC electrical tape across the 3M brand’s product range. Principal components analysis is then applied to reduce the dimensionality of this FTIR data and cluster the rolls into similar groupings. This analysis is then used to classify other examples of similar PVC electrical tape, and the percentage of correct classifications is investigated.

Co-authors: Justin R. Sims (Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Tennessee at Martin) and Amanda Burkhart (Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of Tennessee at Martin)