AbstractExperiments were performed by using 50‐caliber projectiles with different nose‐shapes to determine the amount of projectile energy expended in comminution of the target material when the target was limestone particles. The energy expended by the projectile in crushing the target material is characterized by Von Rittinger's number, which is the increase of surface area of target material per unit of energy expended in crushing. It has been found that, for a crushed limestone target, the energy expended in comminution is a definite fraction of the total kinetic energy of the projectile. This fraction was found to vary slightly for different projectile configurati