I know how it works in practice - an incoming projectile strikes a section of armour, which promptly explodes and this lessens the damage caused.
What I want to understand is how this works in terms of forces - and possibly fluid dynamics How does the momentum of the projectile not end up being transferred to the target (at least not in so destructive a way), given that the projectile is still being turned away?
The best I can do:
Basically, shaped-charge warheads generate a bolt of metal or plasma that burns through armor. Reactive armor disrupts this jet with explosives. The momentum is still, for the most part, transferred to the target. But when we are talking about a multi-ton tank, the effect of a non-penetrating round is going to be less than spectacular.
Thanks for that - it makes sense now.
Yeah – weapons that rely on momentum for doing their damage – “kinetic penetrators” like Armor-Piercing, Fin-Stabilized, Discarding-Sabot rounds (APFSDS), the kind the US makes from depleted uranium – are NOT stopped or affected much by explosive reactive armor (ERA).
It IS effective (in varying degrees) against shaped-charges such as the US HEAT rounds (High Explosive Anti-Tank), by disrupting the plasma stream.
Sailboat