HYDROLOGY

(BFC 32002)

By:-

WAN AFNIZAN BIN WAN MOHAMED

DEPT. OF WATER & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
FAC. OF CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
e-mail: afnizan@uthm.edu.my
CHAPTER 5

ANALYSIS OF
HYDROGRAPH
 CONTENT
 HYDOGRAPH COMPONENT

 BASEFLOW SEPARATION

 UNIT HYDROGRAPH

 SYNTHETIC UNIT
HYDROGRAPH

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
HYDROGRAPH DEFINITION

What
is
Hydrograph ?

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
 HYDROGRAPH COMPONENT

 HYDROGRAPH  flow as a function of time.

 4 components :-
 Direct surface runoff
 Interflow
 Baseflow
 Channel precipitation

Overland flow Precipitation

Interflow

Base flow

Figure 5.1 : Hydrograph components

 HYDROGRAPH COMPONENT
... Cont ‘

FACTORS AFFECTING HYDROGRAPH SHAPE

 Several factors :-

 Drainage characteristics
e.g : Basin area, basin slope, soil type, land use & etc.

 Rainfall characteristics
e.g : Rainfall intensity, duration & ect.

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

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 HYDROGRAPH COMPONENT

... Cont ‘ HYDROGRAPH CHARACTERISTICS

 Hydrograph characteristics :-

 Rising limb
 Crest
 Recession limb

Rising limb Crest

Recession limb
Discharge

Time

Figure 5.2 : Hydrograph characteristics

 HYDROGRAPH COMPONENT
HYDROGRAPH CHARACTERISTICS
... Cont ‘

 In terms of time characteristics

1 inch or 1 mm
Intensity
of net precipitation
Rainfall
in period tr

tc
tr
tl
Discharge

Unit Hydrograph

Time
tp
tb

Figure 5.3 : Hydrograph characteristics

 BASEFLOW SEPARATION

 Techniques to separate Direct Run-Off (DRO) :-

 Straight line / Constant discharge method

 Empiric formula
- For very large watersheds
- Formula :

N = bA0.2 ... 5.1

where :
N = Number of days
b = 0.8 (Natural basins)
A= Area (km2)

 Fixed base / Intersection / Concave method

 Variable slope method
Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;
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 BASEFLOW SEPARATION
... Cont ‘
I A) STRAIGHT LINE METHOD

 Draw horizontal line from start runoff (A) to intersection

with recession limb B (Figure 6.3).

Discharge, Q

Recession point
Rising point (flow starts constant)

A B
BASE FLOW
Time, t

Figure 5.4 : Straight line method

 BASEFLOW SEPARATION
... Cont ‘
I B) STRAIGHT LINE METHOD - Modification

Discharge, Q

Inflection point

A B
BASE FLOW
Time, t

Figure 5.5 : Modification of Straight line method

 BASEFLOW SEPARATION
... Cont ‘
II EMPERIC FORMULA – INTERSECTION METHOD

1
Discharge, Q
3 N = 0.8A0.2

4
5
6
2
BASE FLOW Time, t

Figure 5.6 : Intersection method

 BASEFLOW SEPARATION
... Cont ‘
III EMPERIC FORMULA – VARIABLE SLOPE METHOD

1
Discharge, Q
2 N = 0.8A0.2

3
N Inflection point

6 4
5
BASE FLOW
Time, t

Figure 5.7 : Variable slope method

EXAMPLE 5.1

The daily streamflow data for a particular

catchment having an area of 6500 km2 are
given. Separate the baseflow using the
straight line method and intersection method
(N = 0.8A0.2). Find total of baseflow and
direct flow.

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
EXAMPLE 5.1
.... Con’t
Time Total flow Time Total fow
(days) (m3/s) (days) (m3/s)
1 1600 9 2800

2 1550 10 2200

3 5000 11 1850

4 10300 12 1600

5 8600 13 1330

6 6500 14 1300

7 5000 15 1280

8 3800
SOLUTION

12000

N = (0.8)(6500)0.2 = 4.63 days

10000

8000
Intersection method
Discharge (m3/s)

6000

N
4000

2000

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Time (hr)
Time (day)
Straight line method
SOLUTION .... Con’t
STRAIGHT LINE METHOD

Time Total flow Baseflow Direct Flow

(days) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s)
1 1600 1600 0
2 1550 1550 0
3 5000 1550 3450
4 10300 1510 8790
5 8600 1500 7100
6 6500 1500 5000
7 5000 1490 3510
8 3800 1450 2350
9 2800 2800 1400
10 2200 2200 800
11 1850 1850 470
12 1600 1600 260
13 1330 1330 0
14 1300 1300 0
15 1280 1280 0
TOTAL 24,510 33,130
SOLUTION .... Con’t
INTERSECTION METHOD

Time Total flow Baseflow Direct Flow

(days) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s)
1 1600 1600 0
2 1550 1550 0
3 5000 1200 3800
4 10300 1350 8950
5 8600 1400 7200
6 6500 1650 4850
7 5000 1850 3150
8 3800 2200 1600
9 2800 2800 0
10 2200 2200 0
11 1850 1850 0
12 1600 1600 0
13 1330 1330 0
14 1300 1300 0
15 1280 1280 0
TOTAL 25,160 29,550
 UNIT HYDROGRAPH

Covers :-

 Determination UH

 Derivation UH
(multiperiod rainfall excess)
 Convolution Method
 Deconvolution Method
 S-Curve Hydrograph Method
 Synthetic Unit Hydrograph
 Soil Conservation Service (SCS Method)
 UNIT HYDROGRAPH

What
is
Unit Hydrograph (UH) ?

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
 UNIT HYDROGRAPH
... Con’t
 Direct runoff hydrograph  resulting from a unit volume
of rainfall excess.
 Unit volume rainfall excess  1 unit (cm or in) of effective
rainfall.
 Assumptions made :-
 Watershed  proportionality & superposition principle.

Pexcess 2”

0.6”
UH 0.4”
Figure 5.8 :
= Proportionality
1.2”
Direct principle
Runoff 0.8”

0 Wan D
Afnizan b Wan
2D Mohamed ;
Time
JKAP ; FKAAS
 UNIT HYDROGRAPH
... Con’t

Pexcess 1” 1”

UH 0.6”
0.4”
(at 1st rainfall excess)

UH 0.6”
(at 2nd rainfall excess) 0.4”

1.0”
Runoff = UH  Pexcess Direct
Runoff 0.6”
0.4”
0 D 2D

Figure 5.9 : Superposition principle

 UNIT HYDROGRAPH
... Cont ‘

 Assumptions made …. con’t :-

 Effective rainfall  uniformly distributed.

 Rainfall excess  constant intensity.
 Base time  depends on effective rainfall duration.

 Why need UH ??  to :-

 Structure design.
 Flow records.
 Flood forecasting models.
 Comparing catchment characteristics.

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
 UNIT HYDROGRAPH
DETERMINATION OF UH

PROCEDURE TO DETERMINE UNIT HYDROGRAPH

How it is done ???

( Straight line ) ( Intersection )

Separate Calculate runoff

Plot hydrograph
baseflow volume

Calculate UH Calculate runoff

PLOT UH
ordinates depth

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
EXAMPLE 5.2

The following streamflow data is given in

table was produced by a storm of 1 hr
duration considered to have uniform
intensity over the catchment. If the
catchment area is 5 km2, determine the unit
hydrograph for the catchment.

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
EXAMPLE 5.2 .... Con’t
Time Total flow
(hour) (m3/s)
1 2.80
2 2.78
3 6.23
4 14.50
5 16.57
6 13.03
7 9.35
8 5.95
9 4.25
10 2.97
11 2.12
12 1.70
13 1.53
14 1.53
SOLUTION

Plot the hydrograph & separate the baseflow

Straight line method

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
SOLUTION .... Con’t
STRAIGHT LINE METHOD

Time Total flow Baseflow Direct Flow UH Ordinate

(hr) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s.cm)
1 2.80 2.80 0 0
2 2.78 2.60 0.18 0.04
3 6.23 2.50 3.73 0.90
4 14.50 2.40 12.10 2.91
5 16.57 2.20 14.37 3.45
6 13.03 2.10 10.93 2.62
7 9.35 2.00 7.35 1.77
8 5.95 1.80 4.15 1.00
9 4.25 1.70 2.55 0.61
10 2.97 1.60 1.37 0.33
11 2.12 1.50 0.62 0.15
12 1.70 1.40 0.30 0.07
13 1.53 1.53 0 0
14 1.53 1.53 0 0
TOTAL 57.65
SOLUTION .... Con’t
STEPS TO GET UH – 1 Hr

i. Calculate total runoff volume

57.65 m 3 60 min 60 s
Runoff Volume   
s 1 hr 1 min

Runoff Volume  2.07  105 m 3

ii. Calculate runoff depth

Runoff Volume
Runoff Depth 
Catchment Area

2.07  105 m 3 1 km 1 km
Runoff Depth   
5 km 2 1000 m 1000 m

WanAfnizan
Runoff Depth 0.0414 b Wan  4.14 cm
m Mohamed ;
JKAP ; FKAAS
SOLUTION .... Con’t
STEPS TO GET UH – 1 Hr

iii. Divide each runoff ordinates with runoff depth  UH – 1 Hr

- Was performed inside table –

iv. Plot UH – 1 Hr
4

3.5

2.5
Discharge (m3/s)

1.5

0.5

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

-0.5
Time (hr)
 UNIT HYDROGRAPH
DERIVATION OF UH

 Derive storm hydrograph (multiperiod rainfall excess) 

UH = hydrograph convolution.
 Vice versa  UH get DRO = hydrograph deconvolution

I CONVOLUTION METHOD
Total number of DRO ordinates
 Direct runoff is computed using :-

n
Q n   Pm U n  m  1
m 1 ... 5.2
Or if expand :-

Qn  P n U1  Pn 1U 2  Pn  2 U 3  ...P1U (n  m  1)
 UNIT HYDROGRAPH
... Con’t DERIVATION OF UH

I CONVOLUTION METHOD … Con’t

Where ;

Q = Direct runoff To be determined from

equation
P = Rainfall excess
U = Unit hydrograph
n = Number of direct runoff
m = Number of rainfall excess

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
....Con’t
CONVOLUTION METHOD

Q UH ORDINATES
Value to be added
Q1 P1U1

Value to be added
Q2 P2U1 P1U2

Value to be added
Q3 P3U1 P2U2 P1U3

Value to be added
Q4 P3U2 P2U3 P1U4

Value to be added
Q5 P3U3 P2U4 P1U5

Value to be added
Q6 P3U4 P2U5 P1U6

Value to be added
Q7 P3U5 P2U6 P1U7

Value to be added
Q8 P3U6 P2U7 P1U8

Value to be added
Q9 P3U7 P2U8 P1U9

Q10 P3U8 P2U9 P1U10

Q11 P3U9 P2U10 P1U11

EXAMPLE 5.3

A storm hydrograph is given below with the

corresponding excess rainfall. The time
interval is an hour between readings.
Determine the unit hydrograph.

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
 EXAMPLE 5.3 .... Con’t

Time Rainfall excess Direct discharge

(hour) (mm) (m3/s)
1 10 10
2 30 70
3 20 200
4 460
5 1780
6 3880
7 3160
8 1120
9 620
10 340
11 150
12 70
Q ordinates for DRO
until here 13 20
SOLUTION

The direct runoff hydrograph would be like this :

Time
Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;
JKAP ; FKAAS
SOLUTION

Find the total number of DRO ordinates

From table : m = 3 , n =13

Total number of DRO ordinates = n – m +1

 Total number of DRO ordinates = 13 – 3 +1 = 11

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
SOLUTION .... Con’t
CONVOLUTION METHOD

Q UH ORDINATES
U1 U2 U3 U4 U5 U6 U7 U8 U9 U10 U11

10 10U1

70 30U1 10U2

200 20U1 30U2 10U3

460 20U2 30U3 10U4

1780 20U3 30U4 10U5

3880 20U4 30U5 10U6

3160 20U5 30U6 10U7

1120 20U6 30U7 10U8

620 20U7 30U8 10U9

340 20U8 30U9 10U10

150 20U9 30U10 10U11

SOLUTION .... Con’t
CONVOLUTION METHOD

Write the equation (each) :

1. 10 = 10U1
U1 = 10/10 = 1 cms direct runoff / mm excess rainfall
2. 70 = 30U1 + 10U2
U2 = (70 – 30 U1)/10 = (70 – 30(1))/10 = 4

3. 200 = 20U1 + 30U2 + 10U3

U3 = (200 –20U1 – 30U2)/10 = (200 – 20(1) – 30(4))/10 = 6
4. 460 = 20U2 + 30U3 + 10U4
U4 = (460 - 20U2 - 30U3)/10 = (460 – 20(4) – 30(6))/10 = 20
5. 1780 = 20U3 + 30U4 + 10U5
U5 = (1780 -20U3 - 30U4)/10 = (1780 – 20(6) – 30(20))/10 = 106

6. 3880 = 20U4 + 30U5 + 10U6

U6 = (3880 - 20U4 - 30U5)/10 = (3880 - 20(20) – 30(106)/10 = 30

7. 3160 = 20U5 + 30U6 + 10U7

U7 = (3160 - 20U5 - 30U6)/10 = (3160 – 20(106) – 30(30)/10 = 14
SOLUTION .... Con’t
CONVOLUTION METHOD

Write the equation (each) :

8. 1120 = 20U6 + 30U7 + 10U8

U8 = (1120 - 20U6 - 30U7)/10 = (1120 – 20(30) – 30(14)/10 = 10

9. 620 = 20U7 + 30U8 + 10U9

U9 = (620 - 20U7 - 30U8)/10 = (620 – 20(14) – 30(10)/10 = 4

10. 340 = 20U8 + 30U9 + 10U10

U10= (340 - 20U8 - 30U9)/10 = (340 – 20(10) – 30(4)/10 = 2

11. 150 = 20U9 + 30U10 + 10U11

U11= (150 - 20U9 - 30U10)/10 = (150 – 20(4) – 30(2) / 10 = 1
Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;
JKAP ; FKAAS
SOLUTION .... Con’t
CONVOLUTION METHOD

Tabulate UH ordinates :

Time UH ordinates
(hour) (m3/s.mm)
1 1
2 4
3 6
4 20
5 106
6 30
7 14
8 10
9 4
10 2
11 1
SOLUTION .... Con’t
CONVOLUTION METHOD

UH ordinates in graphical view :

Wan Afnizan bTime

Wan Mohamed ;
JKAP ; FKAAS
Let’s take a
break!!!

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
 UNIT HYDROGRAPH
DERIVATION OF UH

II DECONVOLUTION METHOD

UH  get DRO (any rainfall with any time).

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
 ....Con’t
DECONVOLUTION METHOD

Unit Hydrograph Ordinates

Time Rainfall
U1 U2 U3 U4 U5 U6 U7 U8 U9 U10 U11 Direct Runoff

Value to be added
1 P1 P1U1 P1U1

Value to be added
2 P2 P2U1 P1U2 P2U1 + P1U2

Value to be added
3 P2U2 P1U3 P2U2+ P1U3

4 P2U3 P1U4 P2U3 + P1U4

5 P2U4 P1U5 P2U4 + P1U5

6 P2U5 P1U6 P2U5 + P1U6

7 P2U6 P1U7 P2U6 + P1U7

8 P2U7 P1U8 P2U7 + P1U8

9 P2U8 P1U9 P2U8 + P1U9

10 P2U9 P1U10 P2U9 + P1U10

11 P2U10 P1U11 P2U10 + P1U11

P2U11 P2U11
EXAMPLE 5.4

Derive the hydrograph for an excess rainfall

of 10 mm, 5 mm in the first and second
half hours.

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
EXAMPLE 5.4 .... Con’t

Time UH ordinates
(hour) (m3/s.mm)
1 1
2 4
3 6
4 20
5 106
6 30
7 14
8 10
9 4
10 2
11 1
 SOLUTION
Unit Hydrograph Ordinates ( UH – 1hr )
Time Rainfall (m3/s.mm)
(hr) (mm) Direct Runoff
1 4 6 20 106 30 14 10 4 2 1
(m3/s)

1 10 10 10

2 5 5 40 45

3 20 60 80

4 30 200 230

5 100 1060 1160

6 530 300 830

7 150 140 290

8 70 100 170

9 50 40 90

10 20 20 40

11 10 10 20
Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;
5 5
JKAP ; FKAAS
 SOLUTION

1400

1200

1000
Discharge (m3/s)

800

600 Deconvolution method

UH  DRO
Convolution method
DRO  UH
400

200

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Time (hr)

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
EXAMPLE 5.5

Ordinates of a 3 hour UH and baseflow for

a river are given in the table. Ordinates of
ERH (effective rainfall hyetograph) are also
given. Determine the river flow hydrograph.

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
EXAMPLE 5.5 .... Con’t
Time UH Baseflow
ordinates
(hour) (m3/s.cm) (m3/s)
0 1200 0 10
24 hour system
3 1500 47 10
6 1800 75 11
9 2100 57 11
12 2400 43 12
15 300 31 12
18 600 24 12
21 900 14 13
24 1200 8 13
27 1500 2 13
30 1800 0 13

Time (hr) 3 6 9 12
Rainfall excess (cm) 1.1
Wan Afnizan b 2.3 ;
Wan Mohamed 0 3.5
JKAP ; FKAAS
 SOLUTION

Unit Hydrograph Ordinates ( UH – 3 hr)

Time ERH DRO
River flow =
(m3/s.cm)
(hr) (cm) (m3/s) DRO + Baseflow
0 47 75 57 43 31 24 14 8 2 0 (m3/s)

1200 1.1 0 0 10
1500 2.3 0 51.7 51.7 61.7
1800 0 0 108.1 82.5 190.6 201.6

2100 3.5 0 0 172.5 62.7 235.2 246.2

2400 164.5 0 131.1 47.3 342.9 354.9

300 262.5 0 98.9 34.1 395.5 407.5

600 199.5 0 71.3 26.4 297.2 309.2

900 150.5 0 55.2 15.4 221.1 234.1

1200 108.5 0 32.2 8.8 149.5 162.5

1500 84 0 18.4 2.2 104.6 117.6
1800 49 0 4.6 0 53.6 66.6
2100 28 0 0 28 41
2400 7 0 7 20
0300 0 0 13
 UNIT HYDROGRAPH
S-CURVE HYDROGRAPH METHOD

 Used when dealing with a rainfall of different duration.

 E.g : UH – 2 hr  UH – 3 hr.
 S-curve hydrograph  E.R of infinite duration.
 Allows construction of UH of any duration.

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
... Con’t UNIT HYDROGRAPH
S-CURVE HYDROGRAPH METHOD

HOW IT IS
DONE?

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
... Con’t UNIT HYDROGRAPH
S-CURVE HYDROGRAPH METHOD

Lag at time D Add each

UH–D (will be ( UH–D + All
several lags) UH’s lags)

S-Curve (S2) Lag S-Curve S-Curve (S1)

(S1)
At time D’ with new D’ At time D

Subtract (S1) –
(S2) Value  (D/D’) UH–D’

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
... Con’t UNIT HYDROGRAPH
S-CURVE HYDROGRAPH METHOD

Q
1-hr UH

2-hr UH

1 hr

No need S-Curve (Just lag)

Figure 5.10 : Unit hydrograph lagging
... Con’t UNIT HYDROGRAPH
S-CURVE HYDROGRAPH METHOD

Curve A

Shifted S
curve

Curve B

D’ Time

Need S-Curve !!
Figure 5.11 : S-Curve hydrograph method
EXAMPLE 5.6

Convert the UH-2hr to a UH-3hr using

the S curve .
Time (hr) UH-2hr (m3/s.cm)
0 0
1 75
2 250
3 300
4 275
5 200
6 100
7 75
8 50
9 25
10 0
 SOLUTION

Time UH-2hr 2 hr lagged UHs S-Curve S-Curve UH-3Hr

lagged 3 hr S1 – S2
( S1 – S2 )  2/3
(S1) (S2)
(hr) (m3/s.cm) (m3/s.cm) (m3/s.cm) (m3/s.cm) (m3/s.cm) (m3/s.cm)
0 0 - - - - 0 - 0 0.0

1 75 - - - - 75 - 75 50.0

2 250 0 - - - 250 - 250 166.7

3 300 75 - - - 375 0 375 250.0

4 275 250 0 - - 525 75 450 300.0

5 200 300 75 - - 575 250 325 216.7

6 100 275 250 0 - 625 375 250 166.7

7 75 200 300 75 - 650 525 125 83.3

8 50 100 275 250 0 675 575 100 66.7

9 25 75 200 300 75 675 625 50 33.3

10 0 50 100 275 250 675 650 25 16.7

 = 1350  = 1350
SOLUTION .... Con’t
S Curve

800

700

600
S1
500

Discharge (m3/s)
400

300
S2
200

100

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

-100
Time (hr)

350

UH-2 hr
300
UH-3 hr

250
Discharge (m3/s)

200

150

100

50

0 Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
JKAP ; FKAAS
Time (hr)
 UNIT HYDROGRAPH
SYNTHETIC UNIT HYDROGRAPH

 Hydrologic records not available

SYNDER’S METHOD (1938)

1 2
w 50 w 50
1 3 3
w 75
3
3 2
Qp w 75
3
0.75Qp 5

0.5Qp 4

1 2
Wan
tp Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;
JKAP ; FKAAStb
... Con’t UNIT HYDROGRAPH
SYNTHETIC UNIT HYDROGRAPH

Formula used :-
tR
1) TIME TO PEAK  t P   t lR
2 ... 5.3

Where ;
tR = Desired duration of ER
tlR = Adjusted lag time


t lR  t l  0.25(t R  t r ) ... 5.4
tr = Duration of ER
tl
 tr 
5.5 ... 5.5

tl = Time lag
0.3
 l
t  0.75C t ( LL c ) ... 5.6
... Con’t UNIT HYDROGRAPH
SYNTHETIC UNIT HYDROGRAPH

L = Length of main stream from outlet

Lc = Length along main stream from outlet to
catchment's centriod

2) BASE TIME  TB  72  3t lR ... 5.7

Must do checking. If :-

TB
 5  Take TB  5 ... 5.8
t lR

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
... Con’t UNIT HYDROGRAPH
SYNTHETIC UNIT HYDROGRAPH

Cp A
3) PEAK FLOW  Q p  2.78
tl ... 5.9

where ; tl will change to tlR & Qp to QpR if

tR  tr

Cp = Peak coefficient
- Applicable for small watershed
A = Area (km2)

5.87
4) WIDTH OF UH AT 50% OF Qp  W50 
1.08
 Q pR  ... 5.10
 
 A 
 

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
... Con’t UNIT HYDROGRAPH
SYNTHETIC UNIT HYDROGRAPH

3.35
5) WIDTH OF UH AT 75% OF Qp  W75 
1.08 ... 5.11
 Q pR 
 
 A 
 

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
EXAMPLE 5.7

Derive the 2 hr Snyder unit hydrograph

for a 60 km2 catchment where the main
stream is 11 km long and the distance
from the catchment outlet to the point
on the stream nearest to the centriod
of the catchment is 4 km. Given
Cp = 0.6 and Ct = 1.5
Given :-

tR = 2 hours Cp = 0.6
A = 60 km2 Ct = 1.5
L = 11 km
Lc = 4 km
SOLUTION
Step :-

i) Find lag time, tl

t l  0.75Ct (LLc )0.3

t l  (0.75)(1.5)(11)( 4)0.3
t l  3.5 hours

ii) Find ER, tr

t
tr  l
5.5
3.5
tr   0.636 hours
5.5

Note that tr (0.636 hr) is not equal to TR (2 hr)

SOLUTION .... Con’t
Step :-

iii) Find adjusted lag time, tlR

t lR  t l  0.25(t R  t r )
t IR  3.5  (0.25)2  0.636
t IR  3.84 hours

iv) Find time to peak, tp

tR
tP   t lR
2
2
tp   3.84  4.84 hours
2
Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;
JKAP ; FKAAS
SOLUTION .... Con’t
Step :-

v) Find base time, TB

TB  72  3t lR
TB  72  ( 3)( 3.84)
TB  83.5 hours

Checking ;

TB 83.5

t lR 3.84

TB
 21.7  5  Take TB  5 hours
t lR
SOLUTION .... Con’t
Step :-
v) Find peak flow, QpR

Cp A
QpR  2.78
t lR
 (0.6)( 60) 
QpR  ( 2.78) 
 3 .84 
QpR  26.1 m 3 /s

vi) Width of UH at 50% of QpR

5.87
W50 
1.08
 QpR 
 
 A 
5.87
W 50   14.4 hours
1.08
 26.1 b Wan Mohamed ;
Wan Afnizan
 JKAP 
 60  ; FKAAS
SOLUTION .... Con’t
Step :-

vii) Width of UH at 75% of QpR

3.35
W75  1.08
 Q pR 
 
 A 

3.35
W 75  1.08
 8.2 hours
 26.1 
 
 60 

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
 SOLUTION .... Con’t

Sketch of the synthetic UH

CALCULATION

Q (m3/s) (1/3)W50 = (1/3)(14.4) = 4.8 hr

(2/3)W50 = (2/3)(14.4) = 9.6 hr

30
QpR = 26.1 (4.84 hr, 26.1 m3/s)
(1/3)W75 = (1/3)(8.2) = 2.73 hr
25
0.75QpR (2.11 hr, 19.58 m3/s) (2/3)W75 = (2/3)(8.2) = 5.47 hr
20 (10.31 hr, 19.58 m3/s)

0.5QpR 15
(0.04 hr, 13.05 m3/s)
(14.44 hr, 13.05 m3/s)

10
50%QPR = 0.5  26.1 = 13.05 m3/s
5
(19.2 hr, 0 m3/s)
t (hr)
75%QPR = 0.75  26.1 = 19.58 m3/s
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
tp = 4.84 hr
tb = 19.2 hr
 UNIT HYDROGRAPH
SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE (SCS) METHOD

 Empirically determined factors – research SCS.

 Use in design  hydraulic structures (culverts, detention
basins, stream relocation, large drainage ditches).

PROCEDURE TO DETERMINE SCS UNIT HYDROGRAPH

How it is done ???

Calculate Pr Calculate Qp Refer Table of

from formula from formula Ratios

Find Time (t) &

PLOT UH
Discharge (Q)
... Con’t UNIT HYDROGRAPH
SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE (SCS) METHOD

Formula used :-
1) TIME FROM BEGINNING TO PEAK

tR
Pr   tl
2 ... 5.12
which ;
tR = Duration of rainfall
tl = Time lag

 t l  Ct .(L.Lc )0.3
... 5.13
which ;
Ct = Basin coefficient
L = Length of main stream from outlet
Lc = Length along main stream from outlet to
catchment's centriod
... Con’t UNIT HYDROGRAPH
SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE (SCS) METHOD

2) PEAK DISCHARGE

484A
Qp  (English Unit) ... 5.14
Pr

0.208A
Qp  (Metric Unit) ... 5.15
Pr

which ;
A = Area ( km2 – Metric ; Acres – English )
Pr = Time from beginning to peak
Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;
JKAP ; FKAAS
... Con’t UNIT HYDROGRAPH
SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE (SCS) METHOD

3) TABLE OF RATIOS FOR SCS DIAMENSIONLESS UH

Time Ratio Hydrograph Time Ratio Hydrograph
Discharge Ratio Discharge Ratio
t/Pr (Q/Qp) t/Pr (Q/Qp)
0 0 1.5 0.66
0.1 0.015 1.6 0.56
0.2 0.075 1.8 0.42
0.3 0.16 2.0 0.32
0.4 0.28 2.2 0.24
0.5 0.43 2.4 0.18
0.6 0.60 2.6 0.13
0.7 0.77 2.8 0.098
0.8 0.89 3.0 0.075
0.9 0.97 3.5 0.036
1.0 1.00 4.0 0.018
1.1 0.98 4.5 0.009
1.2 0.92 5.0 0.004
1.3 0.84 Infinity
Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;
0
1.4 0.75JKAP ; FKAAS
EXAMPLE 5.8

For basin having of 500 km2 having

L = 25 km and Lc = 10 km, derive the
4-hour unit hydrograph Assume Ct = 1.6
and Cp = 0.17

Given :-

A = 500 km2 Cp = 0.17

L = 25 km Ct = 1.6
Lc = 10 km tr = 4 hours

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
SOLUTION
Step :-

i) Find time from beginning to peak, Pr

t
Pr  r  t l
2

which ;
t l  Ct .(L.Lc )0.3
t l  (1.6)( 25  10)0.3
t l  8.38 hr

therefore ;
4
Pr   8.38
2
Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;
Pr  10.38 hr ;FKAAS
JKAP 10.4 hr
SOLUTION .... Con’t

ii) Find peak discharge, Qp

0.208A
Qp 
Pr
(0.208)(500)
Qp 
(10.4)
Q p  9.9 m 3 /s

Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;

JKAP ; FKAAS
SOLUTION .... Con’t

iii) Using Table of Ratios SCS, find UH ordinates

Time Ratio t Hydrograph Q

t/Pr Discharge Ratio
(hr) (Q/Qp) (m3/s)
0 0 0 0
0.2 2.1 0.075 0.74
0.5 5.25 0.43 4.26
0.8 8.4 0.89 8.81
1.0 10.5 1.00 9.90
1.5 15.75 0.66 6.54
2.0 21.0 0.32 3.17
3.0 31.5 0.075 0.74
4.0 42.0 0.018 0.18
5.0 52.5 0.004 0.04
SOLUTION .... Con’t

SCS UH ordinates in graphical view :

Synthetic Unit Hydrograph by SCS Method

12

9.90
10

8
Q (m 3/s)

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
10.5
Time (hr)
TIME’S UP …

THANK YOU
Wan Afnizan b Wan Mohamed ;
JKAP ; FKAAS