Abstract:
Approximate solutions are derived for the flight of compact wind borne debris in strong winds. The relevant characteristics of the piece of debris are combined together into the ballistic coefficient. The solutions are put into a non-dimensional form which leads to a set of universal silutions which can be plotted in a manner such that one set of graphs applies to all sizes of debris and wind strength situations. The derived equations are used to show that most common types of debris can easily achieve 40% of the wind speed and in some cases can reach much higher levels.