MODELING EXERCISE 4:

MODELING USING DESIGN STORMS

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INTRODUCTION

From the first modeling exercise until now, you have been modeling runoff from observed and
recorded rainfall hyetographs. However, most engineering design projects involve the use of
design storms. These projects are designed to withstand extreme hydrologic events. For
instance, a bridge is usually designed to withstand the maximum possible discharge that may
occur in the next 50 to 100 years. Statistical analyses of past storm events have been conducted
to develop design storms. Design storms contain information on rainfall intensity, rainfall
depth, duration, and frequency. The frequency of a design event is described by the return
period. A design storm with a return period of 50 years has a probability of 0.02, or 2%, of
being equaled or exceeded in any single year.

Intensity duration frequency (IDF) curves have been develop for use in various design projects.
An example of IDF curves for the Mactan Island is shown below. In this exercise, you will be
able to produce a design flow hydrograph as an output of a design storm event using the
frequency storms function in HEC-HMS.

OBJECTIVE(S)

At the end of this exercise, you will be able to:

(a) produce flow hydrographs from design storms using the frequency storm function of
HEC-HMS.
(b) familiarize the different rainfall hyetographs of the Mactan Island design storms.

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DATA REQUIREMENT(S)

(a) Text Inputs

Loss Method : SCS Loss Model

Transform Method : SCS Unit Hydrograph Model
Baseflow Method : None

(b) Numerical Inputs

Watershed Area : 100 km2

Curve Number : 55
Lag Time : 30 minutes
Simulation Time Step : 5 minutes
Simulation Start Time : 20 March 2020, 09:00AM
Simulation Time Period : 1-2 days

(c) Rainfall depth (mm) for various return periods derived from Mactan Island IDF Curves

Return Period (years)

Duration (mins)
2 5 10 20 25 50 100
5 9.96 12.21 13.68 15.29 15.54 16.95 18.07
10 17.93 21.77 24.29 26.93 27.35 29.79 31.70
15 24.33 29.40 32.71 36.11 36.66 39.87 42.39
30 37.41 45.04 49.96 54.86 55.62 60.44 64.16
60 50.14 60.80 67.54 74.35 75.29 81.91 86.93
120 58.91 72.90 81.52 90.89 91.96 100.52 106.86
180 61.69 77.61 87.29 98.51 99.63 109.38 116.49
360 63.15 82.07 93.45 108.26 109.44 121.32 129.78
720 63.15 83.37 96.22 114.92 116.16 130.20 140.16
1440 63.15 82.88 97.00 119.72 120.96 137.28 148.80

Note: The instructions of this exercise were based on the HEC-HMS 4.3 user interface.
However, you can still accomplish the procedures using any version of HEC-HMS but some
of the images may not exactly match with what you see on your screen.

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PROCEDURES

1. Open HEC-HMS and

create a new project. 1

2. On the menu bar, click

Components>Basin
Model Manager. Create
a new basin model. On
the tool bar, click the
Subbasin Creation Tool
and left click on the
Basin Model window.
Create a new subbasin.
On the watershed
explorer, expand the
Basin Models folder and
click Subbasin-1 under 2
Basin 1. Input the data
requirements found on
page 3.

3. On the menu bar, click

Components>
Meteorologic Model
Manager. Create a new
meteorologic model. Set
Precipitation to
Frequency Storm. Set
Replace Missing to Set
to Default. Do not forget
to include subbasins on
the Basins tab on the
component editor.

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4. On the watershed
explorer, expand the 4
Meteorologic Models
folder and click
Frequency Storm under
Met 1. Set the Annual-
Partial Conversion to
None. The storm
duration determines how
long the precipitation
will last. This duration
must be longer than the
intensity duration. Set
the Storm Duration to 1
Day. The intensity
duration specifies the
shortest time period of
the storm. Usually, the
intensity duration should
be set equal to the time
step of the simulation.
Set Intensity Duration
to 5 Minutes. The
intensity position
determines where in the
storm the period of peak
intensity will occur.
Changing the position
does not change the total
precipitation depth of the
storm, but does change
how the total depth is
distributed in time
during the storm. Set 5
Intensity Position to 50
Percent.

5. Input the rainfall depth

data for the design
storm with a 2-year
return period found on
page 3. Save your
project.

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6. On the menu bar, click
Components>Control 6
Specifications Manager.
Create a new control
specification. Input
specifications found on
page 3. End the
Simulation on 22 March
2020, 1200HR.

7. On the menu bar, click

Compute>Create
Compute>Simulation
Run. Create a new
simulation run.

8. On the watershed
explorer, click the
Compute tab. Expand
the Simulation Runs 7
folder, right click on
Run 1 and click
Compute to run the
simulation. View and
summarize the results.
View the resulting
rainfall hyetograph of
the 2-year, 24-hour
duration design storm.
Save your project.

9. Repeat steps 3 to 8 for

the following design
storms:
(a) 6-hour, 20-year
storm
(b) 6-hour, 50-year 8
storm
(c) 3-hour, 10-year
storm
(d) 3-hour, 25-year
storm
(e) 2-hour, 100-year
storm
(f) 3-hour, 100-year
storm
(g) 12-hour, 5-year
storm

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Prepared by: JONAH LEE I. BAS, MSCE jlibas@usc.edu.ph

REFERENCES

Bedient, P.B, Huber, W.C, Vieux, B.E (2013). Hydrology and Floodplain Analysis.
Merwade, V. (2019). Using Frequency Storms in HEC-HMS.
US Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center (2018). Hydrologic Modeling
System HEC-HMS Technical Reference Manual.
US Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center (2018). Hydrologic Modeling
System HEC-HMS User’s Manual.

SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Special thanks to Dr. Venkatesh Merwade of Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue
University, for giving formal permission to reproduce some phrases and procedures in this
exercise.