CEW 503

Hydrograph Analysis
Assoc Prof. Dr. Shanker Kumar Sinnakaudan
Water Resources Engineering and Management Research Centre,
UiTM Pulau Pinang

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Hydrograph Analysis

Why ?
Peak discharge vs.
Continuous flow record analysis

Significant variations in
the catchment characteristics
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 6368 6468 6568 6668 6768 6868 6968 7068 7168 7268 7368 7468 7568 7668 7768
0 140

Discharge, Q (m /s)
Rainfall (mm)

120

3
20
100
40 80
60 60
40
80 20
100 0
1:00 AM 5:00 PM 9:00 AM 1:00 AM 5:00 PM 9:00 AM 1:00 AM 5:00 PM 9:00 AM 1:00 AM
T ime (hr)

Rainfall Measured Flow at Silibin

1st October 1995 – 30th November 1995 rainfall (Station

4511111) and discharge hydrograph (Station 4610466)
records (Sinnakaudan, 2003)

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 330

280
Flow (m3 /s)

230

180

130
80

30
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
T ime ( min)

10 Year ARI 50 Year ARI 100 Year ARI

Predicted discharge Hydrographs for year 2020

(120 minute storm duration ) for Pari River (Sinnakaudan, 2004)
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 HYDROGRAPH?
DISCHARGE
(m3/s)
Q

TIME (t)

DISCHARGE VS. TIME

• Definition: a plot that shows stage, flow,

velocity or some other characteristics of
water with respect to time.
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 There are few types of
hydrograph:
Annual Hydrograph
Monthly Hydrograph
Seasonal Hydrograph
Flood or Storm Hydrograph

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Hydrographs Functions

• Input Function – Rainfall Hyetograph

• Transfer Function – Concept of Unit Hydrograph
• Output Function – Total Runoff

Analyzes measured rainfall and

runoff to obtain an estimate of transfer function
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 t
INITIAL
LOSSES
ABSTRACTION
RAINFALL
RAINFALL
INTENSITY EXCESS

INPUT FUNCTION ( STORM HYETOGRAPH)

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 UNIT
DISCHARGE
UNIT
HYDROGRAPH

TIME (t)

TRANSFER FUNCTION ( UNIT HYDROGRAPH)

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
DISCHARGE
DIRECT
RUNOFF

BASE FLOW

TIME (t)

OUTPUT FUNCTION ( RUNOFF HYDROGRAPH)

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
Components of a
Hydrograph

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 The portion of HG which shows the
discharge start increasing to reach the
maximum point (crest).
Rising limb

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Crest

The optimum point when

the discharge reach to the
maximum value.

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Recession limb
The portion of HG showing
the discharge start
decreasing from the crest.

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
The point where the slope is greater than 1 rather than the slope
being less than 1
Inflection point

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
The water discharged from ground water storage.

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Baseflow Sinnakaudan
The storm runoff that results from rainfall excess.

Direct Runoff

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
Initial Abstraction

part of the rainfall that occurs prior to the start of direct runoff.

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Losses

The ability of the watershed to retain water.

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Rainfall Excess

part of the rainfall that appears as direct runoff

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Time recession
where the time of the flow start
to decrease.

t
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
r Sinnakaudan
 Time base
the time range from the flow start to increase and the flow
start to decrease .

tb (c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Lag time
The time between the center of mass discharge of rainfall excess
and the time of the peak discharge.

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

L Sinnakaudan
 Intensity(in/hr) losses
Rainfall excess
D t
Qp

tp
D = duration
tp= time to peak flowQ tc
Inflection point
L = lag time
tc = time of concentration
t
tr = recession time L tr
tb =base time =tp+tr (c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
tb
Sinnakaudan
 Rainfall Excess for a Watershed

• Rainfall Excess is the amount of excess

rainfall that would produce runoff.
• Rainfall Excess is measured as a depth
over the watershed area.

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Rainfall Excess:
Characteristics of Influence
• Examples of Abstraction
– Puddles
– Leaky roof
– Swimming pool
– Ponds
– Lakes
– Sinkholes
– Wetlands

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Runoff Excess:
Characteristics of Influence
• Infiltration
– Soil properties
– Soil surface condition
– Vegetative cover
– Development ⇒ Impervious
– Soil Strata
• Time of Concentration, tc

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Rainfall Excess vs. Runoff
The key difference between rainfall excess
and runoff is:

– Time of Concentration, tc
The time of concentration is the time it
takes the furthest particle of water to
travel throughout the watershed and reach
the point at which we want to measure
the runoff.
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 TOTAL RUNOFF
HYDROGRAPH

DIRECT BASEFLOW
RUNOFF - WATER DISCHARGED FROM AN
EXTENSIVE GROUNDWATER
AQUIFER

THE DIRECT RUNOFF HYDROGRAPH IS THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN THE TOTAL RUNOFF HYDROGRAPH AND THE
BASEFLOW
(c) Assoc ProfFUNCTION
Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 Base flow separation methods

• Constant Discharge method

• Constant Slope Baseflow separation
• Concave Baseflow Separation
• Master-Depletion- Curve Method

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Constant Discharge
• Easiest method
• Line intersects lowest discharge rate, prior
to rising limb and recession limb

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 CONSTANT-
CONSTANT-DISCHARGE BASEFLOW
SEPARATION
# Line separating base flow & direct runoff
begins at the point of lowest discharge rate.
# Extends at a constant discharge rate until
intersects the recession limb.

DISCHARGE
(m3/s)
Q

qs qe
ts (c) Assoc TIME t
(t)Shanker Kumar
Prof Dr. e
Sinnakaudan
 The Base Flow Function:

q for t <ts

qb = qs for ts≤ t ≤ te
q for te < t

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Constant slope Baseflow separation

• Flow from aquifer begins at the recession

• Point where direct runoff ends
• Select the inflection point
• Concave to Convex

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
Constant-
Constant-Slope Base flow separation

q for t <ts

qb = qs+(t – ts)[(qr - qs)/ (t r – ts)] for ts ≤ t ≤ tr

q for tr < t

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
ts t <ts tr

tr
qr tr tr < t
qs

ts tr

ts ≤ t ≤ tr (c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Concave Baseflow Separation
• Starting and ending point same as constant
slope
• Baseflow decrease until the time of peak
discharge
• More realistic but detail calculation is
needed

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
RECESSION or CONCAVE BASEFLOW SEPARATION
q for t <ts

qb = qs+(t – ts)[(qs - qo)/ (t s – to)] for ts ≤ t ≤ tp

qm+(t – tp)[(qr - qm)/ (tr – tp)] for tp < t ≤ tr

q for tr < t Qr = recession or threshold q
Qs = initial Q (choose the 1st value when the
hydrograph start to rise)
Qm = qbase at peak time (minimum baseflow
value)
Tr = also known as the inflection point,
hydrograph goes from convex to concave, slope
qr tr between adjacent two points being greater 1 to
qs less than 1
qm

ts tp tr (c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 200
Flow R ate (m 3 /sec) Threshold Q
150 Initial
Q To get exact value,
calculate the slope
100 between 2 points and
select if it is less than 1
50

0
0
30

30

30

30

30

30

30
93
10

11

12

13

14

15

16
If Qp = 150 and Qr = 80, thus ratio Time of Day (hr)
to peak is 80/150 = 0.5. You may
specify as actual threshold value or (c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
ratio to peak Sinnakaudan
 The ordinates of discharge hydrograph measured on
a 1 hour interval at Lahat Bridge, Pari river, Ipoh.

Ordinate Number Accumulated Time Discharge (m3/s)

1 9 pm 16.15
2 10 pm 13.22
3 11 pm 19.34
4 12 pm 28.00
5 1 am 16.55
6 2 am 15.11
7 3 am 14.05
8 4 am 13.00
9 5 am 11.00
10 6 am 11.59
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 DISCHARGE HYDROGRAPH
30
28
25

20 19.34
Discharge

16.15 16.55
15 15.11
13.22 14.05
13
11 11.59
10

0
9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00
PM PM PM PM AM AM AM AM AM AM
Time
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 CONCAVE METHOD
30
28
25

20 19.34
to
Discharge

16.15 16.55
15 15.11
13.22 14.05
qr 13
11 11.59
10 qs

5
to ts tp tr
0
9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00
PM PM PM PM AM AM AM AM AM AM
Time
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 CONCAVE METHOD

Important data taken from the hydrograph

ts = 10.00 pm qs = 13.22 m3/s

tr = 1.00 am qr = 16.55 m3/s

to = 9.00 pm qo = 16.15 m3/s

tp = 12.00 pm

Notes: Qb at tp is taken as qm

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 CONCAVE METHOD

Example of calculation at 11 pm

Qb = 13.22 + ( 11 – 10 )[( 13.22 – 16.15 )/( 10 – 9)] = 10.29 m3/s

Example of calculation at 1 am

Qb = 7.36 + ( 13 – 10 )[( 16.55 – 7.36 )/( 13 – 12)] = 10.29 m3/s

From the calculation, we get Qm = 7.36 m3/s

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Baseflow from Concave method

Ordinate Accumulated Discharge (m Baseflow

Number Time 3/s) (m3/s)
1 9 pm 16.15 16.15
2 10 pm 13.22 13.22
3 11 pm 19.34 10.29
4 12 pm 28.00 7.36
5 1 am 16.55 16.55
6 2 am 15.11 15.11
7 3 am 14.05 14.05
8 4 am 13.00 13.00
9 5 am 11.00 11.00
10 6 am 11.59 11.59
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 CONSTANT DISCHARGE METHOD

30
28
25

20 19.34
Discharge

16.15 16.55
15 15.11
13.22 14.05
13
11 11.59
10

5
ts
te
0
9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00
PM PM PM PM AM AM AM AM AM AM
Time
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
CONSTANT DISCHARGE METHOD

for t < ts Qb = Q

for ts ≤ t ≤ te Qb = qs

for t > te Qb = Q

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Baseflow from Constant Discharge
method

Ordinate Discharge
Number Accumulated Time (m3/s) Baseflow (m3/s)
1 9 pm 16.15 16.15
2 10 pm 13.22 13.22
3 11 pm 19.34 13.22
4 12 pm 28.00 13.22
5 1 am 16.55 13.22
6 2 am 15.11 13.22
7 3 am 14.05 13.22
8 4 am 13.00 13.22
9 5 am 11.00 11.00
10 6 am 11.59 11.59
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 DIRECT RUNOFF

Direct runoff = Total Runoff – Base Flow

Ordinate Accumulated Discharge Baseflow Direct Runoff

Number Time (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s)
1 9 pm 16.15 16.15 0
2 10 pm 13.22 13.22 0
3 11 pm 19.34 10.29 9.05
4 12 pm 28.00 7.36 20.64
5 1 am 16.55 16.55 0
6 2 am 15.11 15.11 0
7 3 am 14.05 14.05 0
8 4 am 13.00 13.00 0
9 5 am 11.00 11.00 0
10 6 am 11.59 11.59 0
(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
Sinnakaudan
 DIRECT RUNOFF VOLUME

Direct Runoff Volume = (Total Direct Runoff x Time in second) ÷ Area

Direct Runoff Volume

= [( 9.05 + 20.64 ) x 60 x 60 ] m3 ÷ ( 271 x 106 ) m2

= 0.4 x 10-3 m

= 0.4 x 10-3 m x 100 cm/m

= 0.04 cm

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 CONSTANT-SLOPE METHOD

Time of Day Flow Rate qb qd

(hr) (ft3/sec) (ft3/sec) (ft3/sec)
0930 61 61 0
1000 49 49 0
1030 40 40 0
1100 54 47 7
1130 112 54 58
1200 153 61 92
1230 148 68 80
1300 113 75 38
1330 82 82 0
1400 71 71 0
1430 61 61 0
1500 52 52 0
1530 44 44 0
1600 36 36 0
1630 29 29 0
1700 22 Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar
(c) Assoc 22 0
Sinnakaudan
 SAMPLE CALCULATION
• For the constant-slope method, the following equation is used to find the value of
baseflow,qb (for ts ≤ t ≤ ts) :

qb = qs + (t - ts)[(qr – qs)/(tr – ts)]

EXAMPLE:
The baseflow period taken from storm time 1030 to the recession inflection point at
1530 hours:

Qb = 40 + (t – 10.30) [(82 - 40) / (13.30-10.30)]

= 40 + (t – 10.30) [(42 cfs / 180 min)]
= 82 ft3/sec .

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
Other Available Methods

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
Fixed Interval

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
Fixed Interval

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
Local Minimum

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
Local Minimum

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
Sliding Interval

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
Sliding Interval

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan
 Next Lecture
• Unit Hydrograph

(c) Assoc Prof Dr. Shanker Kumar

Sinnakaudan