🚀 go-pugleaf

From     Patrick Jonke <jonke@brl.mil>

>> ...is it actually a fusion-reaction that would enable surprisingly deep
>> penetration into armor?

> What happens is on contact the KE of the round becomes heat, melting
> the armor and the round and forming a high-temperature molten metal jet
> that slices through the armor. 


Where on earth did you get this idea?  8-)

KE rounds don't "melt" (neither do shaped charge jets, for that
matter); the interaction with the armor takes place so fast that there
isn't time to melt anything. Keep in mind that the term "melt" implies a
change from solid to liquid and should not be confused with plastic
deformation. Some energy is taken up by plastic deformation of the
target and penetrator (which also heats them) and some by momentum transfer.

In a nutshell, DU is used in KE rounds because it is very dense (~18.7
g/cc) compared to steel (~7.8 g/cc). The primary material property
factor in penetration is the ratio of threat density to target density.
To maximize penetration for a given round, you want to make that ratio
as large as possible. Tungsten (~19.3 g/cc) is used for the same reason.


Hope this helps...