Damage caused to fibres by vapour cloud explosions
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Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Evaluating Primary Blast Effects In Vitro
Published on: September 18, 2017
Jolanta Was-Gubała1, Wolf Krauss
1Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, Cracow 31-033, Poland. jwas@ies.krakow.pl
Abstract:
Research on the very specific damage to single textile fibres caused by vapour cloud explosions is presented. Vapour cloud explosion experiments were carried out using a selection of 41 garments differing in colour, fibre composition and textile construction. Fibres subjected to a vapour cloud explosion become wider at the end, often taking the form of a ball, bulb or shovel, while the morphological structure of the remaining part of the fibre remains almost unchanged. The presented results can clearly indicate that an explosion took place at the scene of the crime. The authors would like to be able to provide investigators with specific information on how to link clothes (and thus people) to a specific type of crime.
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