Leicester: Industrial application for forensic metal fingerprinting technique

A simple, handheld device that can measure corrosion on machine parts has been developed on the back of research into fingerprint detection carried out at Leicester University. John Bond, the scientist who developed the technique, is now looking for a company to commercialise the device.

Bond’s method of identifying fingerprints on brass bullet-casings, even after they have been wiped clean, is based on the minuscule amounts of corrosion that can be caused by sweat. Working with scientists in the Department of Chemistry, Bond has applied the same technique to develop a handheld device that can measure corrosion on machine parts, enabling them to be replaced at the appropriate time.

“This is a new, quick, cheap and easy way of measuring the extent of corrosion on copper and copper based alloys, such as brass,” says Bond, an Honorary Research Fellow in the university’s Forensic Research Centre and Scientific Support Manager at Northamptonshire Police. “Such measurements can already be made but this is quick, cheap and easy and can be performed in the field, as it works off a nine-volt battery.

Measuring corrosion of metals, such as brass ensures that machinery does not operate outside its safe limits. “This could be anything from checking that a water pipe will not burst open, to ensuring that the metal on an airplane is not corroded. Having a quick portable and cheap device will enable metals to be tested in situ, with no prior set up of corrosion measuring equipment.

In addition, Bond said the technique enables the type of corrosion to be determined, for example, copper oxide or zinc oxide corrosion on brass, giving clues to how severe the corrosion is.
A prototype device has been built and Bond and his colleagues are now looking for a company to commercialise this invention.