THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH the basics

 the unit hydrograph method is utilized to compute the direct runoff hydrograph at a
watershed outlet for the given rainfall excess produced by a storm event

 the unit hydrograph method is widely used and is incorporated into a number of
computer models including HEC-HMS

 a unit hydrograph per se can be defined as a direct runoff hydrograph resulting

from a rainfall excess of unit depth and constant intensity for a particular watershed

 this unit depth is 1 cm in the SI system and 1 inch in the US system

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH the basics

 the unit hydrograph term is often abbreviated as UH, when a subscript is added it
refers to the duration of the rainfall excess  for example, the direct runoff hydrograph
produced by a rainfall excess that has a duration of 3 hrs and a constant intensity of
1/3 in/hr is denoted UH3 (Here the depth of rainfall excess is 1 in = 1/3 in/hr * 3 hr)

 a unit hydrograph for a gaged watershed can be developed by analyzing the

simultaneous rainfall and runoff records (provided the watershed is gaged)

 if not gaged, several synthetic techniques of producing unit hydrographs exist that
allow unit hydrograph construction for ungaged sites, such hydrographs incorporate
various physical characteristics of the watershed

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH the scs unit hydrograph method

 the US Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly SCS) recommends the

use of a curvilinear dimensionless unit hydrograph that was developed by Victor
Mockus (SCS 1985)

 we must note that the dimensionless hydrograph specifies neither the peak
discharge nor the timing of the peak discharge of a unit hydrograph, it does specify
the shape of the UH relative to the peak discharge and time to peak 06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH the scs unit hydrograph method

 this shape will represent the average shape of a large number of unit hydrographs
from watersheds of different characteristics
 a dimensionless hydrograph can be converted to a unit hydrograph of the desired
duration if Qup and tp are known
06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH the scs unit hydrograph method

 here Qup and tp are determined by equations developed out of the watershed
characteristics

Qup = 484A/tp (US) Qup = 2.08A/tp (SI) - [1]

tp = tR/2 + tL - [2]
 where
A = peak flow (cfs/in), (m3/cm)
A = water shed area (mi2), (km2)

tR = duration of rainfall excess (hr)

tL = basin lag time (hr)

 and, we acquire tL from

tL = 0.6 Tc - [3]  Tc of course is time of concentration

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH the scs unit hydrograph method

 if we want to develop the 10 min unit hydrograph (UH1/6) we would use tR = 1/6 hr
and the watershed’s time of concentration Tc to compute tp (equations [3] and [2])

 combining this with the time to peak we could then compute the peak discharge,
Qup from [1]

Qup = 484A/tp Qup = 2.08A/tp - [1]

tp = tR/2 + tL - [2]

tL = 0.6 Tc - [3]

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH the scs unit hydrograph method

 the dimensionless hydrograph can be converted to a unit hydrograph of desired

duration after Qup and tp are found

 this can be achieved by multiplying the values of the vertical axis of the
dimensionless hydrograph by Qup and those on the horizontal by tp

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH the scs unit hydrograph method

 it is further important for us to note that (strictly speaking) the SCS dimensionless
hydrograph method should be used only for tR= 0.2tp or tR = 0.133Tc, in practice
however the values can vary slightly under the constraints of tR <= 0.25tp or tR <=
0.17 Tc

 a curvilinear unit hydrograph may be approximated by a triangular unit

hydrograph for simplicity

 the peak discharge, Qup, and its time of occurrence, tp can still be determined by
[1] and [2] respectively

 however, the time base, TB of a triangular unit hydrograph is usually computed

using

TB = 2.67 tp - [4]

 here TB and tp must have consistent time units

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH gamma function unit hydrograph method

 the SCS dimensionless curvilinear hydrograph discussed in the previous slides

actually represents a special case of the gamma function unit hydrograph

 [1] and [4] can be represented in a more general form

Qup = PrA/tp - [5]

 here Pr = peak rate factor

 the ordinates of the gamma function unit hydrograph are acquired from

Qu = Qup [t/tp exp(1-t/tp)]n-1 - [6]

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH gamma function unit hydrograph method

Qu = Qup [t/tp exp(1-t/tp)]n-1 - [6]

 here n is a shape parameter, n and Pr are related by the following table

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH gamma function unit hydrograph method

 the n and Pr relationship ensures that the hydrograph computed utilizing [5] and
[6] will correspond to a rainfall excess of unit depth  it is also important to
appreciate that [2] and [3] can be used to still determine tL and tp respectively

Qup = PrA/tp - [5]

Qu = Qup [t/tp exp(1-t/tp)]n-1 - [6]

tp = tR/2 + tL - [2]

tL = 0.6 Tc - [3]

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH application of the unit hydrograph method

 the linear relationship between rainfall excess and direct runoff rates is the basis
of the unit hydrograph method assumption

 this says that first, the base time of the direct runoff hydrograph resulting from a
rainfall excess of a given duration is constant regardless of the amount of rainfall
excess and second, that the ordinates of a direct runoff hydrograph resulting from a
rainfall excess of a given duration are directly proportional to the total amount of
rainfall excess

 we can say this differently, that the base of the direct runoff hydrograph (DRH)
resulting from a rainfall excess of, for instance, 1.5 in produced over a 2 hr duration
is the same as that of 1.5 times a 2 hr unit hydrograph UH2

 further, the ordinates of this DRH are 1.5 times the ordinates of the UH2 at
respective times

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH application of the unit hydrograph method

 it can simply be stated that DRH = 1.5UH2 in this case and easily determine the
DRH if we know the UH2

 similarly, suppose the rainfall excess is generated in a watershed at a constant

rate of 2/3 in/hr * 3 hr = 2 in, and thus, DRH = 2UH3

 the linearity assumption also allows the use of the principle of superposition to
compute the DRH resulting from composite rainfall excess hyetographs in which the
rate of rainfall excess is different during different time intervals

 suppose the rainfall excess is produced at a constant rate of 0.75 in/hr during the
first 2 hr of a storm and at a rate of 0.25 in/hr for the next 2 hrs

 then the depth of rainfall excess during the first 2 hrs is 0.75 in/hr * 2 hr = 1.5 in

 this will result in a direct runoff equal to 1.5UH2

 however, since the second part of the rainfall excess is delayed 2 hrs with respect
to time zero, the resulting direct runoff will also be delayed  thus the resulting
direct runoff hydrograph will be DRH = 1.5UH2 + 0.5UH2 (lagged 2 hrs)
06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH application of the unit hydrograph method

EX:

GIVEN: the ordinates of a 10 min unit hydrograph, UH1/6, of a watershed are

tabulated in C2 of the table following

REQD: determine the ordinates of the DRH that will result from the rainfall
excess shown the graphical figure following

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH application of the unit hydrograph method

EX:

SOLU: 1. we first determine the depth of the rainfall produced during the first,
second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth 10 min periods

 so, between 0 and 10 min the depth is 0.6 in/hr * (1/6) hr = 0.1 in,
and between 10 and 20 min the depth is 1.2 in/hr * (1/6) hr = 0.2 in

 it follows from here that the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth 10 min
periods accordingly have depths of 0.15, 0.10, 0.05, and 0.05 in
respectively

 thus,

DRH = 0.10UH1/6 + 0.20UH1/6(lag 10 min) + 0.15UH1/6(lag 20 min) +

0.10UH1/6(lag 30min) + 0.05UH1/6(lag 40 min) + 0.05UH1/6(lag 50 min)

 the calculations are shown in the table following (table 5.7)

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH application of the unit hydrograph method

EX:

SOLU:

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE RATIONAL METHOD introduction

 perhaps the most widely known runoff-rainfall models is the rational method

 the rational method perseveres due to its simplicity and its broad coverage in the
literature

 the rational method is what is called a peak discharge design method, we must
here appreciate the difference between a design method and an evaluation
(analysis) method

 the design method is not required to be as accurate as an evaluation method as

some factor of safety is always incorporated into the design

 further, due to the assumptions required, the rational formula is generally limited
to urban watersheds smaller than 200 acres

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE RATIONAL METHOD introduction

 in the rational method, the intensity of the design storm is assumed to remain
constant

 it is further assumed that of all storms having the same return period, the one
whose duration is equal to the time of concentration would produce the largest peak
discharge

 for this reason, in the rational method the design storm duration is set equal to the
time of concentration of the watershed

 so now we appreciate if the storm duration is less than the t o c, this means that
the rain will cease prior to the maximum discharge being obtained

 alternatively, if the storm duration is larger than the t o c, then equilibrium will be
reached, however, the equilibrium discharge will be smaller for the same return
period as the intensity corresponding to a longer storm duration is less than the one
corresponding to a duration equal to the t o c

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE RATIONAL METHOD introduction to the procedure

 the rational method procedure that is frequently applied to determine the design
discharge for a stormwater structure is summarized below

1. determine the design return period

2. compute the t o c of the watershed – the choice of t o c determination formula

depends on design manuals and regulations particular to the site

3. set the design storm duration equal to the t o c and determine the design storm
intensity form the IDF curves appropriate for the project site

4. determine the design discharge utilizing

Qp = C i A - [7]

06-87-471 Hydrology
 THE RATIONAL METHOD introduction to the procedure

Qp = C i A - [7]

here

Qp = peak discharge = design discharge

C = dimensionless runoff coefficient

i = rate of rainfall

A = surface area of drainage basin

06-87-471 Hydrology