Analysis of automobile window glass samples by k 0 -NAA and PIXE techniques for forensic applications

The k 0 -based neutron activation analysis ( k 0 -NAA) and Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) have been performed for 48 automobile window glass samples in forensic applications. A total of 29 elements determined by both k 0 -NAA and PIXE techniques in the glass are: Al, Ba, Ca, Ce, Cl, Co, Cs, Cu, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Rb, S, Sc, Si, Sm, Sr, Tb, Th, Ti, Yb, Zn and Zr. The car glass samples were grouped using Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering method. Based on dataset of the samples analyzed along with statistical analysis using Principal Component Analysis method, the results of grouping by car brand indicated that the only k 0 -NAA dataset was well grouped by vehicle maker. Moreover, the Factor Analysis results also suggested that REEs contributed highly to the grouping with percentage variability of 20.88%, on the other hand, the macro elements had a high level of clustering according to the car model from different vehicle makers.