I have some forcefield shielding in my setting whereby particles act essentially as solid mass armor for all intents and purposes. Warheads grind themselves down against armor just like modern composite armor. As a result, most tanks in my setting use the shield as the main armor, with a backup layer of ERA (explosive reactive armor) and slightly thicker structural metal underneath it. However, these shields are much tougher. They can routinely shrug off multiple long rod penetrators. They also have the added benefit of detonating HEAT (high explosive anti tank) as soon as the round hits the edge of the forcefield since it acts as solid armor.
Somethings to note about HEAT:
- It utilizes the Munroe effect to fire a superplastic round (usually a copper lining) to punch through a tanks armor.
- It does NOT rely on temperature to melt armor.
- Standoff distances matter, detonate to early and you cannot get a good enough jet.
- As a superplastic jet travels, it breaks apart and stretches. Usually within two meters.
- The velocity of the HEAT round has absolutely zero bearing on penetration. The velocity of the molten jet is usually hypersonic (fictional material can go higher if that helps the answer).
The large shielding capabilities of my force field means that I can get multiple meters of equivalent armor in a very compact particle field. Combined with active protection systems (on top of ERA) and there very quickly comes up a problem. Tanks can essentially push a region unimpeded unless facing equivalent armor.
I'm looking to give my infantry and lighter armed vehicles a fighting chance. In this case instead of copper, I am using a fictional material that retains its superplastic shape without breaking or stretching too much. Especially past the two-meter mark.
What properties does this fictional material have such that my new HEAT rounds can penetrate through my particle shield and through my ERA blocks?
Note it doesn't have to be surefire/guaranteed all the time to penetrate all the way through. Basically, I'm looking for a materials upgrade so that things become more even. An answer can approach from the assumption that the material already exists and make assumptions/observations about said material to achieve the goal.
By properties I mean characteristics such as density, thermal/specific heat indexes, elasticity, crystalline structure, behavior under heat etc etc. The answer doesn't have to answer all the above points but is just a frame for the type of answer I'm looking for, essentially the materials engineering.