The Bell-Shaped Unit Hydrograph for Overland Planes
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 5
Abstract
This study presents a conceptual model to obtain the shape of the unit hydrograph in a small rectangular basin with a collecting channel on one side of the flow plane. In classical hydrology, flows are classified as linear, convergent, and divergent. In the proposed model, a rainfall of constant intensity is assumed, with the duration equal to the time of concentration of the basin, as in the rational method. The shape of the plane is simplified in order to obtain an analytical solution. It is observed that in the plane of diffuse flow, the flow begins as a convergent of repletion, then passes to divergent of repletion, and finishes as a convergent of depletion. The applied theory allows the development of a classic bell-shaped unit hydrograph, a very common form of the theoretical hydrographs found in the literature. The proposed methodology was also applied to a practical flood damping problem in an urban watershed.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported through the Foundation for Scientific and Technological Development of the State of Ceará—FUNCAP (PNE0112-00042.01.00/16) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel—CAPES (PROEX 20/2016).
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 5 • May 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 7, 2019
Accepted: Dec 5, 2019
Published online: Feb 27, 2020
Published in print: May 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jul 27, 2020
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