Experimental Study on the Effect of Wind Speed on Hail Impacts

Hailstorms, exacerbated by global warming, inflict escalating economic losses on infrastructure, yet existing research overlooks wind–hail synergy in impact dynamics. This study employs a wind-tunnel-integrated hail impact simulator to analyze how wind speed, hail diameter, and velocity collectively influence impact behavior. Key results reveal that higher wind speeds shorten the impact duration, accelerate peak force attainment, and amplify peak forces by up to 18.9% compared to windless conditions. Smaller hailstones exhibit reduced wind sensitivity, while combined increases in wind speed and hail diameter/velocity proportionally elevate peak forces. Momentum transfer from wind-driven fragmented hail clusters enhances force generation, demonstrating wind’s critical role in damage potential. A multivariate regression model predicting peak impact loads is proposed, offering actionable insights for wind–hail-resistant structural design.