LAUSR

Abstract Windborne debris (WBD) is one of the significant causes of damage to civil structures and infrastructures and economic loss under extreme winds, such as hurricanes and tornadoes. The impact of WBD with high momentum damages the building envelope and may further threaten the integrity of the entire structure. This study presents a comprehensive review of current literature on interactions between wind fields and WBD, with a focus on approaches to model/simulate dynamics of WBD and their impact loading on civil structures. Depending upon the applied research methodologies, the studies in the existing literature can be primarily categorized into the following three groups: 1) analytical/empirical modeling/numerical approaches, 2) experimental approaches, and 3) statistical approaches. Following brief descriptions of these approaches and their findings in the published studies, knowledge gaps are identified, and research needs are recommended.