Effects of Infiltration Conditions and Rainfall Characteristics on Simulated Curve Numbers
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 147, Issue 10
Abstract
The curve number (CN) method is the most widely used method to estimate the depth of runoff resulting from a given depth of rainfall. However, there are still doubts about the effect of rainfall characteristics and soil moisture conditions on the method’s parameters (CN, and the standard initial abstraction ratio, ). In this study, design rainfall distributions were used along with Hortonian infiltration characteristics to calculate CN and values for a highly clayey soil (). Prerainfall infiltration conditions were characterized by the measured initial soil moisture content, and Hortonian infiltration model was obtained from experimental infiltration test measurements. The main results show that there is no influence of initial infiltration rates on CN values, and rainfall duration generates substantial influence on CN. The CN is inversely related to rainfall depth, and is dependent on the initial soil moisture. Further, neither tabulated CN nor standard corresponds to the simulated values obtained in this case. Therefore, these findings suggest that the method’s parameters should be specifically adapted to local hydrological conditions.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Araucária Foundation for the scholarships granted to the first author (Scientific Program PIBIC from 2018 to 2019). The soil analyses were supported by the Soil Analysis Laboratory of the Federal University of Technology of Paraná–Pato Branco. Paulo Tarso S. de Oliveira and Murilo Cesar Lucas were supported by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), respectively, Grant Nos. 441289/2017-7 and 429750/2018-8.
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Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 147 • Issue 10 • October 2021
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 25, 2020
Accepted: May 30, 2021
Published online: Aug 2, 2021
Published in print: Oct 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Jan 2, 2022
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