Engineering Hydrology Lecture Note

TABLE OF CONTENTS
2 Rainfall-Runoff Relationships (Application of Different Rainfall-Runoff Models).........2
2.1 Introduction to hydrological Models.........................................................................2
2.2 Rational Method........................................................................................................5
2.2.1 Runoff Coefficient.............................................................................................5
2.2.2 Rainfall intensity................................................................................................7
2.2.3 Time of Concentration.......................................................................................8
2.3 SCS Curve Number Method....................................................................................11
2.4 Time-Area Method..................................................................................................15
2.5 Stream Flow Hydrograph........................................................................................16
2.5.1 Hydrograph Analysis.......................................................................................16
2.5.2 Factors affecting flood hydrograph.................................................................19
2.5.3 Effective Rainfall.............................................................................................19
2.5.4 Separation of Base Flow and Runoff...............................................................20
2.6 The Unit Hydrograph (UH).....................................................................................21
2.6.1 Derivation of the Unit Hydrograph from single storms...................................23
2.6.2 Changing of the Duration of the UH...............................................................24
2.6.3 Applications of Unit Hydrograph....................................................................26
2.6.4 UH from a complex storm...............................................................................26
2.6.5 Instantaneous unit Hydrograph (IUH).............................................................28

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2 Rainfall-Runoff Relationships (Application of Different Rainfall-Runoff Models)

2.1 Introduction to hydrological Models

The two classical types of hydrological models are the deterministic and the stochastic types.

Figure 2.1: Classification of hydrological models according to process description

Deterministic Hydrological Models

Deterministic models permit only one outcome from a simulation with one set of inputs and
parameter values. Deterministic models can be classified to whether the model gives a
lumped or distributed description of the considered area, and whether the description of the
hydrological processes is empirical, conceptual, or more physically-based. As most
conceptual models are also lumped and as most physically based models are also distributed.
The three main groups of deterministic models:
• Empirical Models (black box)
• Lumped Conceptual Models (grey box)
• Distributed Process (Physically) Description Based Models (white box)

1. Empirical (Black Box) Models

Black box models are empirical, involving mathematical equations that have been assessed,
not from the physical processes in the catchment, but from analysis of concurrent input and
output time series.

The first of this kind of model was the Rational Method published by the Irish engineer
Thomas James Mulvaney (1822-1892) in 1851. The model was a single simple equation

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often used for drainage design for small suburban and urban watersheds. The equation
assumes the proportionality between peak discharge, qpk, and the maximum average rainfall
intensity, ieff:
qpk = CR* ieff*AD
Where AD is drainage area and CR is the runoff coefficient, which depends on watershed
land use.

The equation was derived from a simplified conceptual model of travel times on basins with
negligible surface storage. The duration of the rainfall to be used in the equation is the mean
intensity of precipitation for duration equal to the time of concentration and an exceedence
probability of P.

The model reflects the way in which discharges are expected to increase with area, land use
and rainfall intensity in a rational way and hence its name Rational Method.

The scaling parameter C reflects the fact that not all the rainfall becomes discharge. The
method does not attempt to separate the different effects of runoff production and runoff
routing that controls the relationship between the volume of rainfall falling on the catchment
in a storm and the discharge at the hydrograph peak. In addition, the constant C is required to
take account of the nonlinear relationship between antecedent conditions and the profile of
storm rainfall and the resulting runoff production. Thus, C is not a constant parameter, but
varies from storm to storm on the same catchment, and from catchment to catchment for
similar storms.

The other best known among the black box models is the unit hydrograph model which was
published by Sherman (1932), who used the idea that the various time delays for runoff
produced on the catchment to reach the outlet could be represented as a time distribution
without any direct link to the areas involved. Because the routing procedure was linear, this
distribution could be normalized to represent the response to a unit of runoff production, or
effective rainfall, generated
over the catchment in one time step. The method is one of the most commonly used
hydrograph modelling techniques in hydrology, simple to understand and easy to apply. The
unit hydrograph represents a discrete transfer function for effective rainfall to reach the basin
outlet, lumped to the scale of the catchment.

Other empirical models are developed using linear regression and correlation methods used
to determine functional relationships between different data sets. The relation ships are
characterized by correlation coefficients and standard deviation and the parameter estimation
is carried out using rigorous statistical methods involving tests for significance and validity
of the chosen model.

2. Lumped Conceptual Models

Lumped models treat the catchment as a single unit, with state variables that represent
average values over the catchment area, such as storage in the saturated zone. Due to the
lumped description, the description of the hydrological processes cannot be based directly on

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the equations that are supposed to be valid for the individual soil columns. Hence, the
equations are semi-empirical, but still with a physical basis. Therefore, the model parameters
cannot usually be assessed from field data alone, but have to be obtained through the help of
calibration. One of the first and most successful lumped digital computer models was the
Stanford Watershed model developed by Norman Crawford and Ray Linsley at Stanford
University. The Stanford model had up to 35 parameters, although it was suggested that
many of these could be fixed on the basis of the physical characteristics of the catchment and
only a much smaller number needed to be calibrated.

3. Distributed Process Description Based Models

Another approach to hydrological processes modeling was the attempt to produce models
based on the governing equations describing all the surface and subsurface flow processes in
the catchment. A first attempt to outline the potentials and some of the elements in a
distributed process description based model on a catchment scale was made by Freeze and
Harlan (1969). The calculations require larger computers to solve the flow domain and points
at the elements of the catchment. Distributed models of this type have the possibility of
defining parameter values for every element in the solution mesh. They give a detailed and
potentially more correct description of the hydrological processes in the catchment than do
the other model types. The process equations require many different parameters to be
specified for each element and made the calibration difficult in comparison with the observed
responses of the catchment.

In principle parameter adjustment of this type of model is not necessary if the process
equations used are valid and if the parameters are strongly related to the physical
characteristics of the surface, soil and rock. In practice the model requires effective values at
the scale of the elements. Because of the heterogeneity of soil, surface vegetation
establishing a link between measurements and element values is difficult. The Distributed
Process Description Based Models can in principle be applied to almost any kind of
hydrological problem. The development is increased over the recent years for the fact that the
increase in computer power, programming tools and digital databases and the need to handle
processes and predictions of runoff, sediment transport and/or contaminants.

Another reason is the need of the models for impact assessment. Changes in land use, such as
deforestation or urbanization often affect only part of a catchment area. With a distributed
model it is possible to examine the effects of such land use changes in their correct spatial
context by understanding the physical meaning between the parameter values and the land
use changes.

Recent examples of distributed process based models include the SHE model (Abbott et al.,
1986), MIKE SHE (Refsgaard and Storm, 1995), IHDM (Institute of Hydrology Distributed
Model; Calver and Wood 1995), and THALES (Grayson et al. 1992), etc.

Stochastic Time Series Models

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Stochastic models allow for some randomness or uncertainty in the possible outcomes due to
uncertainty in input variables, boundary conditions or model parameters. Traditionally, a
stochastic model is derived from a time series analysis of the historical record. The stochastic
model can then be used for the generation of long hypothetical sequences of events with the
same statistical properties as the historical record. In this technique several synthetic series
with identical statistical properties are generated. These generated sequences of data can then
be used in the analysis of design variables and their uncertainties, for example, when
estimating reservoir storage requirements.

With regard to process description, the classical stochastic simulation models are comparable
to the empirical, black box models. Hence, stochastic time series models are in reality
composed of a simple deterministic core (the black box model) contained within a
comprehensive stochastic methodology. So, these are the broad generic classes of rainfall-
runoff models, lumped or
distributed; deterministic or stochastic.

The vast majority of models used in rainfall-runoff modelling are deterministic. Simpler
models still offer so wide applicability and flexibility. If the interest is in simulating and
predicting a one time series, for instance, run-off prediction, simple lumped parameter
models can provide just as good simulation as complex process description based models.

2.2 Rational Method

One of the most commonly used for the calculation of peak flow from small areas is the
rational formula given as:

Wh
3
ere, Qp = peak flow (m /s)
C = dimensionless runoff coefficient
i(tc,p) = the mean intensity of precipitation (mm/h) for a duration equal to tc and an
exceedence probability p
A = drainage area in Km2
Assumptions inherent in the Rational Formula are as follows:
• The peak flow occurs when the entire watershed is contributing to the flow
• The rainfall intensity is the same over the entire drainage area
• The rainfall intensity is uniform over a time duration equal to the time of
concentration, tc . The time of concentration is the time required for water to travel from the
hydraulically most remote point of the basin to the point of interest
• The frequency of the computed peak flow is the same as that of the rainfall
intensity, i.e., the 10-yr rainfall intensity is assumed to produce the 10-yr peak flow
• The coefficient of runoff is the same for all storms of all recurrence probabilities
Because of these inherent assumptions, the Rational Formula should only be applied to
drainage areas smaller than 80 ha (50km2).

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2.2.1 Runoff Coefficient

The ground cover and a host of other hydrologic abstractions considerably affect the
coefficient. The rational equation in general relates the estimated peak discharge to a
theoretical maximum of 100% runoff. The Values of C vary from 0.05 for flat sandy areas to
0.95 for impervious urban surfaces, and considerable knowledge of the catchment is needed
in order to estimate an acceptable value. The coefficient of runoff also varies for different
storms on the same catchment, and thus, using an average value for C, gives only a rough
estimate of Qp in small uniform urban areas. On top of this the Rational Formula has been
used for many years as a basis for engineering design for small land drainage schemes and
storm-water channels.

If the basin contains varying amount of different land cover or other abstractions, a
coefficient can be calculated through areal weighing as shown in equation (2.2). Typical
values are given in table 2.1 below.

Where x = subscript designating values for incremental areas with consistent land cover

Table 2.1: Runoff coefficients for Rational formula

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2.2.2 Rainfall intensity

Rainfall intensity, duration curve and frequency curves are necessary to use the Rational
method. Regional IDF curves need to be developed for the catchment in question.

Figure 2.2: Example of IDF Curve

2.2.3 Time of Concentration

tc is the time of concentration, the time required for rain falling at the farthest point of the

catchment to flow to the measuring point of the river. Thus, after time tc from the
commencement of rain, the whole of the catchment is taken to be contributing to the flow.
The value of i, the mean intensity, assumed that the rate of rainfall is constant during tc, and
that all the measured rainfall over the catchment area contributes to the peak flow. The peak
flow Qp occurs after the period tc.

There are a number of methods that can be used to estimate time of concentration (tc), some
of which are intended to calculate the flow velocity within individual segments of the flow
path (e.g. shallow concentrated flow, open channel flow, etc.) the time of concentration can
be calculated as the sum of the travel times within the various consecutive flow segments.

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Open Channel and pipe flow velocity: Flow in gullies empties in to channels
or pipes. Open channel flow is assumed to begin where the stream follows and
defined path and becomes visible/significant. Manning’s equation can be used
to estimate average flow velocities in pipe and open channels.

Table 2.2: Intercept coefficients for velocity versus slope relationship of equation (2.5)

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Table 2.3: Manning’s Roughness coefficient (n) for overland flow

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For small natural catchments, a formula derived from data published by Kirprich for
agricultural areas could be used to give tc in hours by the following relationship:

Where: L = the length of the catchment along the longest river channel (in m)
S = overall catchment slope (in m/m)

2.3 SCS Curve Number Method

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Where CN= curve number, listed in table 2.4 for different land uses and hydrologic soil
types. This table assumes average antecedent moisture conditions. For multiple
land use/soil type combinations within a basin, use areal weighing.

Table 2.4: Runoff Curve Numbers for Urban areas (Average watershed conditions, Ia = 0.2
SR)

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Where: C0, C1, C2=Coefficients, listed in Table 2.5 (below). These are a function of the
24 hour rainfall distribution type Ia/P, Ia/P ratios are listed in Table 2.5

Table 2.5: Coefficients for SCS peak Discharge Method (equation 2.11)

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Table 2.6: Adjustment factor (Fp) for pond and swamp areas that are spread throughout the
watershed

Table 2.7: Ia/P for selected rainfall depths and Curve Numbers

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2.4 Time-Area Method

The time – area method of obtaining runoff or discharge from rainfall can be considered as
an extension and improvement of the rational method. The peak discharge Qp is the sum of
flow – contributions from subdivisions of the catchment defined by time contours (called
isochrones), which are lines of equal flow – time to the river section where Qp is required.
The method is illustrated in Figure 2.2(a).

Figure 2.3: Time-area method

The flow from each contributing area bounded by two isochrones (T - ΔT, T) is obtained
from the product of the mean intensity of effective rainfall (i) from time T-ΔT to time T and
the area (ΔA). Thus Q4, the flow at X at time 4h is given by:

As
the assumption for the rational method, the whole catchment is taken to be contributing to the
flow after T equals to t c. Hence the peak flow contributed from the whole catchment after Tc
of the commencement of rain is:

Where n, the number of incremental areas between successive isochrones, is given by t c/ΔT,
and k is a counter.

The unrealistic assumption made in the rational method of uniform rainfall intensity over the
whole catchment and during the whole of tc is avoided in the time – area method, where the
catchment contributions are subdivided in time. The varying intensities within a storm are
averaged over discrete periods according to the isochrones time interval selected. Hence, in
deriving a flood peak for design purposes, a design storm with a critical sequence of
intensities can be used for the maximum intensities applied to the contributing areas of the
catchment that have most rapid runoff. However, when such differences within a catchment
are considered, there arises difficulty in determining tc, the time after the commencement of
the storm when, by definition, Qp occurs.

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2.5 Stream Flow Hydrograph

A hydrograph is a graphical plot of discharge of a natural stream or river versus time. The
hydrograph is a result of a particular effective rainfall hyetograph as modified by basin flow
characteristics. By definition, the volume of water under an effective rainfall hyetograph is
equal to the volume of surface runoff.

It has three characteristic parts: the rising limb, the crest segment and the falling limb or
depletion curve. With reference to figure 2.4 the effective rainfall hyetograph consisting of a
single block of rainfall with duration D (T is also used in the lecture note alternatively)
shown in the upper left part of the figure produced the runoff hydrograph. The areas enclosed
by the hyetograph and the hydrograph each represent the same volume, V, of water from the
catchment. The maximum flow rate on the hydrograph is the peak flow, qp, while the time
from the start of the hydrograph to qp is the time to peak, tp. The total duration of the
hydrograph is known as the base time, tb.

The lag time, tL is the time from the center of mass of effective rainfall to the peak of runoff
hydrograph. It is apparent that tp = tL + D/2, using this definition. Some define lag time as
the time from center of mass of effective rainfall to the center of the runoff hydrograph.

Figure 2.4: Runoff Hydrograph for a single block of rainfall with duration D

2.5.1 Hydrograph Analysis

One of the major tasks of the hydrograph analysis is to produce rainfall-runoff relationships
for a catchment area, for predicting runoffs as a result of certain rains which does not involve
the direct measurement of runoff.

Hydrograph describes the whole time history of the changing rate of flow from a catchment
due to rainfall event rather than predicting only the peak flow (Rational Method). A natural
hydrograph would be the result of continuous measurements of discharge (with a recording

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device) producing the required relationship for any times interval, e.g. for a single flood
event related to a single storm.

Hydrograph may also show mean values of events observed over a long period (of several
years) as daily, monthly or annual averages in their temporal distribution over a year (or the
rainy season or any other defined period of interest) giving the solution of specific problems
(average storage behavior, average available discharge, etc).

Depending upon the unit of time involved, we have:

1. Annual hydrographs showing the variation of daily or weekly or 10 days daily mean flows
over a year.
2. Monthly hydrographs showing the variation of daily mean flows over a month
3. Seasonal hydrographs representing the variation of the discharge in a particular season
such as the monsoon season or dry season
4. Flood hydrographs or hydrographs due to storm representing stream flow due to a storm
over a catchment

The hydrograph of stream flow against time has two main components, the area under the
hump, labeled surface runoff (which is produced by volume of water derived from the storm
event), and the broad band near the time axis, representing base flow contributed from
groundwater.

At the beginning of the rainfall, the river level (and hence the discharge) is low and a period
of time elapses before the river begins to rise. During this period the rainfall is being
intercepted by vegetation or is soaking into the ground and making up soil-moisture deficits.
The length of the delay before the river rises depends on the wetness of the catchment before
the storm and on the intensity of the rainfall itself.

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When the rainfall has satisfied catchment deficits and when surfaces and soils are saturated,
the rain begins to contribute to the stream flow. The proportion of rainfall that finds its way
into a river is being the effective rainfall, the rest being lost as in the form of evaporation,
detention on the ground and vegetation surface or retention in the soil. As the storm
proceeds, the proportion of effective rainfall increases and that of lost rainfall decreases.

The volume of surface runoff, represented by the area under the hydrograph minus the base
flow, can be considered in two main subdivisions to simplify the complex water movements
over the surface and in the ground. The effective rainfall makes the immediate contribution
to the rising limb from A to the peak of the hydrograph and, even when the rainfall stops,
continue until the inflection point (condition of maximum storage). Beyond this point, it is
generally considered that the flow comes from the water temporarily stored in the soil. This
so-called interflow continues to provide the flow of the recession curve until the water from
the whole of the effective rainfall is completely depleted at B.

The boundary between surface runoff and base flow is difficult to define and depends very
much on the geological structure and composition of the catchment. Permeable aquifers, such
as limestone and sandstone strata, sustain high base flow contributions, but impervious clays
and built-up areas provide little or no base flow to a river. The base flow levels are also
affected by the general climatic state of the area: they tend to be high after period of wet
weather and can be very low after prolonged drought. Groundwater provides the total flow of
the recession curve until the next period of wet weather.

The main aims of the engineering hydrologist are to quantify the various components of the
hydrograph, by analyzing past events, in order to relate effective rainfall to surface runoff,
and thereby to be able to estimate and design for future events. As a result of the complexity
of the processes that create stream flow from rainfall, many simplifications and assumptions
have to be made.

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2.5.2 Factors affecting flood hydrograph

Table 2.8: Factors affecting flood hydrograph

2.5.3 Effective Rainfall

At the start of a hydrograph analysis it is advisable to begin with a hydrograph produced by a
single rain event to identify the runoff characteristics of the catchment area. Such a single
event hydrograph is produced by the net or effective rain forming a flood wave or the direct
runoff which will be super imposed on the existing flow (base flow) of the river.

The portion of rainfall that finds its way into a river is known as the effective rainfall, the
rest being lost in evaporation, detention on the vegetation and ground surface or retention in
the soil. As the storm proceeds, the portion of effective rainfall increases and that of lost
rainfall decreases.

For the purposes of correlating direct runoff hydrograph (DRH) with the rainfall, which
produces the flow, it is necessary to obtain the effective rainfall hydrograph (hyetograph)
(ERH) which can be obtained by deducting the losses from the total rain. At the beginning of
a storm there could be considerable interception of the rainfall and initial wetting of surfaces
before the rainfall become ‘effective’ to form surface runoff.

The loss-rate is dependent on the state of the catchment before the storm and is difficult to
assess quantitatively. The two simplified methods of determining the effective rainfall are:
I. The φ-index method
II. The initial and continuing loss method.

I. The φ-index method: this method assumes a constant loss rate of φ-mm from the
beginning of the rainfall event. This amount accounts for interception, evaporation loss and
surface detention in pools and hollows.
II. Initial and continuing loss rate method: In this method all the rainfall up to the time of
rise of the hydrograph is considered lost, and there is a continuing loss-rate at same level
after words.

A choice between the two methods depends on knowledge of the catchment but, as the
timing of the extent of initial loss is arbitrary, the fixing of the beginning of effective rainfall

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at the beginning of runoff in the stream neglects any lag time in the drainage process and thus
somewhat unrealistic. A constant loss-rate, the φ-index, would therefore seem to be more
readily applicable.

2.5.4 Separation of Base Flow and Runoff

The total runoff consists of direct runoff and the base flow. For hydrograph analysis the base
flow has to be separated from the total runoff. There are several methods of base flow
separation. Some of them that are that are in common use are:

Straight-line method (Method-I)

The separation of the base flow is achieved by joining with a straight-line beginning of the
direct runoff to a point on the recession limb representing the end of the direct runoff. Point
B the end of the recession limb may be located by an empirical equation for the time interval
N (days) from the peak to the point B is
N = 0.83A0.2
(2.15)
Where A = drainage in km2 , and N in days
Method-II
In this method the base flow curve existing prior to the commencement of the surface runoff
is extended till it intersects the ordinate drawn at the peak Point C. This point is joined to
point B by a straight line. Segment AC and CB separate the base flow and surface runoff.
Method-III
In this method the base flow recession curve after the depletion of the floodwater is extended
backwards till it intersects the ordinate at the point of inflection (line EF). Points A and F are
joined by an arbitrary smooth curve. This method of base-flow is realistic in situations where
the groundwater contributions are significant and reach the stream quickly. The surface
runoff obtained after the base-flow separation is known as direct runoff hydrograph (DRH).

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Figure 2.6: Base flow separation

2.6 The Unit Hydrograph (UH)

A major step forward in hydrological analysis was the concept of the unit hydrograph
introduced by the American engineer Sherman in 1932.

The unit hydrograph (UH) of duration T is defined as the storm runoff due to unit depth (e.g.
1 mm rain depth) of effective rainfall, generated uniformly in space and time on the
catchment in time T. The duration can be chosen arbitrarily so that we can have a 1h UH, a
6h UH, etc. in general a D-h hour unit hydrograph applicable to a given catchment. The
definition of unit hydrograph implies the following.
1. The unit hydrograph represents the lumped response of the catchment to a unit rainfall
excess of T-h duration to produce a direct-runoff hydrograph. It relates only the direct runoff
to the rainfall excess. Hence the volume of water contained in the unit hydrograph must be
equal to the rainfall excess. As 1 mm depth of rainfall excess is considered the area of the
unit hydrograph is equal to a volume given by 1 mm over the catchment.
2. The rainfall is considered to have an average intensity of excess rainfall (ER) of 1/T mm/h
for the durationT-h of the storm.
3. The distribution of the storm is considered to be all over the catchment. The requirement
of uniformity in areal distribution of the effective rainfall is rarely met and indeed unless the
non-uniformity is pronounced, its effect is neglected.

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The figure shows the definition of rainfall-runoff relationship with 1mm of uniform effective
rainfall occurring over a time T producing the hydrograph labeled TUH. The units of the
ordinates of the t-hour unit hydrograph are m3/s per mm of rain. The volume of water in the
surface runoff is given by the area under the hydrograph and is equivalent to the 1mm depth
of effective rainfall over the catchment area.

The unit hydrograph method makes several assumptions that give it simple properties
assisting in its application.

1. There is a direct proportional relationship between the effective rainfall and the storm
runoff. This is known as Law of proportionality.

Figure 1.6 b) above shows that two units of effective rainfall falling in time T produce a
surface runoff hydrograph that has its ordinates twice the TUH ordinates, and similarly for
any proportional value. For example, if 6.5 mm of effective rainfall fall on a catchment area
in T h, then the hydrograph resulting from that effective rainfall is obtained by multiplying
the ordinates of the TUH by 6.5From this law it can be seen that different rain intensities
with the same duration of the rain will produce hydrographs with different magnitudes but
the same base length; however, there will be only one unit hydrograph for the same duration.

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If the UH for a certain duration T is known then the runoff of any other rain of the duration T
may be computed by multiplying the UH ordinates with the ratio of the given rain intensity
with unit rain. i.e.:

2. The total hydrograph of direct runoff due to n successive amounts of effective rainfall (for
instance R1 and R2) is equal to the sum of the n successive hydrographs produced by the
effective rainfall (the latter lagged by T h on the former). This is known as Law of
Superposition. Once a TUH is available, it can be used to estimate design flood hydrographs
from design storms. The law of superposition is demonstrated in Figure 1.6 c above.
3. The third property of TUH assumes that the effective rainfall-surface runoff relationship
does not change with time, i.e., the same TUH always occurs whenever the unit of effective
rainfall in T h is applied on the catchment. Using this time invariance assumption, once a
TUH has been derived for a catchment area, it could be used to represent the response of the
catchment whenever required.

2.6.1 Derivation of the Unit Hydrograph from single storms

The derivation of the unit hydrograph of a catchment from single storms proceeds in the
following stages:
1. The rainfall records are scanned to find a storm of desired duration that gives a fairly
uniform distribution in time and space. The hyetograph of this storm is constructed using a
convenient uniform interval of time.
2. The base flow is separated from the hydrograph using one of the methods presented in
section 1.7.3.
3. The surface runoff volume is determined as a depth of flow by numerical integration:

Wh
ere,
d = depth of surface runoff in mm
Δt = uniform time interval in hours at which the ordinates of the surface runoff are
measured
ΣQ = sum of all ordinates of surface runoff hydrograph in m3/s
A = catchment area in Km2
4. The ordinates of the surface runoff hydrograph are divided by the runoff depth d due to the
ordinates of the unit hydrograph.
5. The unit hydrograph for effective rainfall of duration T, the TUH, is plotted, and the area
under the curve is checked to see if the enclosed volume is equivalent to unit effective
rainfall over the area of catchment.

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2.6.2 Changing of the Duration of the UH

There are two methods to change the duration of unit hydrograph: (i) by superposition from
u(T1,t) to u(T2,t), where T2 = n*T1, with n an integer > 1,hence only enlargements of
multiple of T1 are possible, (ii) by S-curve technique from u(T1,t) to u(T2,t) where T2 =
α*T1, with α a real > 0, hence, T2 may be larger than T1 but also smaller than T1. It should
be remembered that a unit hydrograph refers to unit depth of rainfall excess so if the duration
is T hours the excess rainfall intensity is 1/T.

Enlargement of T by superposition:
Say, it is required to derive from U(T1,t) a unit hydrograph of U(T2,t) with T2 = 3T1. The
U(T1,t) refers to a rainfall intensity of 1/T1 to give a unit depth, whereas U(T2.t) should refer
to 1/T2 to give unit depth of effective rainfall. The U(T2.t) is obtained by superposition of
three U(T1,t) shifted T1 hours apart. By adding the ordinates of U(T1,t) u(T1, t-T1) and
u(T1,t-2T1) at the corresponding times the resulting hydrograph Q(t) will refer to an effective
rainfall of 3T1*1/T1 = 3 units. Hence to get U(T2,t) all Q(t) ordinates have to be multiplied
by (i2/i1) = (1/T2)/(1/T1) = T1/T2 = 1/3, to let it refer to unit depth of rainfall.

S-curve:
The S-curve is the hydrograph of runoff of continuous rainfall of intensity i.e. =1/T1. To
derive the S-curve assume a T-hour unit hydrograph with non-zero ordinates: u1, u2,
u3…,un. The base length is (n+1) T. the S-curve is obtained by superposition of n T-hour
UHs as shown in figure 2.9. The maximum is reached after n time of T hours. This maximum
is equal to Qs, i.e. the equilibrium discharge:

Wh
ere, Qs = the maximum rate at which an ER intensity of 1/T can drain out of the catchment of
area, A (km2)
T1 = unit storm in hours

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The S-curve is computed using the following scheme:

S1 = u1
S2 = u1+u2 = u2+S1
S3 = u1+u2+u3 = u3 +S2
.
.
.
Sn = u1+u2+u3+…+un = un+Sn-1 (2.18)
So, generally;
Si = ui+Si-1 for i = 1,…,n
Si = Si-1 for i >n (2.18)

The T2-hour UH is obtained from the difference between two S-curves distanced T2-hours
apart, corrected for the effective intensity as follows. Since the S-curve refers to continuous
rain of 1/T1 units, the difference between the S-curves displaced by T2 hours represents
surface runoff from (1/T1)xT2. A rainfall with duration T2 requires an intensity i2 = 1/T2 to
give unit depth. Hence, the S-curve difference has to be multiplied with the ratio i2/i1=
(1/T2)/(1/T1) = T1/T2 to get a unit depth in T2 hours. Hence, u(T2,t) follows from:

Not
e that the base length follows from Tb2 = Tb1 - T1 +T2. The procedure is shown in figure
2.10 below.

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Engineering Hydrology Lecture Note

The errors in interpolation of UH ordinates often result in oscillation of S-curve at the

equilibrium value, Qs. This results in the derived T-h UH having an abnormal sequence of
discharges (sometimes even negative values) at the tail end. The S-curve and the resulting T
h UH is adjusted by smoothening the curves.

2.6.3 Applications of Unit Hydrograph

As the UH establishes a relationship between the DRH and ERH for a catchment, they are of
immense value in the study of the hydrology of a catchment. They are of great use in:
- The development of flood hydrograph for extreme rainfall magnitudes for use in design of
hydraulic structures
- Extension of flood-flow records based on rainfall records
- The development of flood forecasting and warning systems based on rainfall.

2.6.4 UH from a complex storm

In nature storms are most likely occurring with changing intensities over their total duration.
Natural hydrograph related to such complex storms may be considered as several
superimposed hydrographs related to single storms of constant intensity forming the total
given storm.

The resulting storm from the complex storm is divided into sub storms of equal duration and
constant intensity. After defining the effective rain from the individual storm and computing
the direct runoff hydrograph, the composite DRH is obtained.

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Engineering Hydrology Lecture Note

At various time intervals 1D, 2D, 3D, … from the start of the ERH, let the ordinates of the
unit hydrograph be u1, u2, u3, … and the ordinates of the composite DRH be Q1, Q2, Q3,….
Then;

(2.20)

From equation (2.20) the values of u3, u2, and u1 … can be determined. However this
method suffers from the disadvantage that the errors propagate and increases as the
calculations proceeds.

The Un at higher n values (towards the end of the recession limb) can contain oscillations, if
so, the final values may be smoothened to find a reasonable curvature. The reason for such
behavior is the accumulation of small errors through the whole process of calculation. Matrix
methods with optimization schemes are useful to reduce the number of unknown variables.

The other approach is to fit a suitable shape of UH to an average profile of the individual
UH. An arithmetic mean of superimposed ordinates may be lower than the individual peaks.
The proper procedure is to compute average peak flow and time to peak. The average unit
hydrograph is then sketched to conform to the shape of other graphs, passing through the
computed average peak and having the required unit volume.

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2.6.5 Instantaneous unit Hydrograph (IUH)

For a given catchment a number of unit hydrographs of different durations are possible. The
shape of these different UHs depends upon the value of D. As the value of D is reduced, the
intensity of rainfall excess being equal to 1/D increases and the unit hydrograph becomes
more skewed. A finite UH is indicated as the duration D→o. The limiting case of a unit
hydrograph of zero duration is known as instantaneous unit hydrograph (IUH). This IUH is
a fictitious, conceptual UH which represent the direct runoff from the catchment due to an
instantaneous precipitation of the rainfall excess volume of 1 unit (cm). IUH is represented
by U(t) or sometimes by U(0,t). It is a single-peaked hydrograph with a finite base width and
its important properties being:

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Consider an effective rainfall I(t) of duration t0 applied to a catchment as shown in figure

2.15; Each infinitesimal element of the ERH will operate on the IUH to produce a DRH
whose discharge at time t is given by:

(2.21)

t’ = t when t< t0
t’ = t0 when t≥ t0

Equation (2.21) is called the convolution integral. The main advantage of IUH is that, it is
independent of the duration of ERH and thus has one parameter less than a D-h unit
hydrograph. This fact and the definition of IUH make it eminently suitable for theoretical
analysis of excess-runoff relationship of a catchment. For a given catchment IUH, being
independent of rainfall characteristics, is indicative of the catchment storage characteristics.
Derivation of IUH As dt is made smaller and smaller, i.e., as dt→0 an IUH results.

(2.22)

if i= 1, then u(t) = ds’/dt = slope of S-curve of intensity 1 and 2 of unit depth

Derivation of D-hour UH from IUH

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From ds’ = u(t)dt, integrating between two points 1 and 2

= (2.23)
If u(t) is linear within the range 1 to 2, then for small values of Δt (t2 –t1) by taking:

(2.24)
But (S’2-S’1)/(t2-t1) = ordinate of a unit hydrograph of duration D1 = (t2 –t1). Thus, in
general terms, for small values of D1, the ordinates of a D1, the ordinates of a D1-hour UH
are obtained by the equation:
1
D1  hourUH    IUH t   IHU t D  (2.25)
2

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