Ch5 Hydrograph Analysis NKS

Chapter 5: Hydrograph analysis
5.1 Hydrograph
Hydrograph is a graphical plot of discharge (Q) of a river at a given location over time. It is the output or
total response of a basin.
Components of hydrograph:
Q
Peak
Rising limb Recession limb
t
Fig. 5.1: Hydrograph
1. Rising limb: It is ascending portion of hydrograph. It is influenced by storm and basin
characteristics. The rising limb rises slowly in the early stage of flood but more rapidly towards the
end portion. This is because in the initial stage the losses are high. The flow begins to build up in the
channel as the storm duration increases. It gradually reaches the peak when maximum area
contributes.
2. Peak or crest segment: It is the part which contains peak flow, which is of interest to
hydrologists. Peak of hydrograph occurs when all portions of basins contribute at the outlet
simultaneously at the maximum rate. Depending upon the rainfall and basin characteristics, the
peak may be sharp, flat or may have several well defined peaks.
3. Recession limb: Recession limb represents withdrawal of water from the storage built up in the
basin during the earlier phase of the hydrograph. It extends from the point of inflection at the end
of the crest to the beginning of natural groundwater flow (also called baseflow – refer next section).
The recession limb is affected by basin characteristics only and independent of the storm. A general
equation for recession curve: 𝑄𝑡 = 𝑄0 𝐾𝑟𝑡
Alternative form: 𝑄𝑡 = 𝑄0 𝑒 −𝑎𝑡
Where, Q0: initial discharge; Qt: discharge at a time interval of t days; Kr: recession constant, a = -
ln(Kr)
Some useful terms:
 Time to peak: time lapse between starting of the rising limb to the peak
 Time lag: time interval between centre of mass of rainfall hyetograph to the centre of mass of
runoff hydrograph.
 Time of concentration: time taken by a drop of water to travel from the remotest part to the
outlet
 Time base of hydrograph: time between starting of runoff hydrograph to the end of direct
runoff due to storm.
5.2 Separation of base flow

Direct runoff: It is the part of precipitation which appears quickly as flow in the river, (direct runoff =
surface +subsurface).
Base flow: The part of runoff which receives water from the groundwater storage is called base flow.
Base flow separation:
Q N
Pt. of inflection
Method 3
Method 1
Method 32
Fig. 5.2: Base flow separation methods

t
Method 1: Straight line method:
 Join the beginning of surface runoff to a point on the recession limb representing the end of
direct runoff.
 End point: by expert judgment or empirical equation
 Empirical equation to find end of direct runoff: N = 0.83 A0.2
Where, N = time interval from the peak to the end of direct runoff, A = Basin area
Method 2: Extend the base flow curve prior to the commencement of surface runoff till it intersects
the ordinate drawn at the peak point. Join this point to the end point of direct runoff
Method 3: Extend the base flow recession curve backwards after the depletion of flood water till it
intersects the ordinate at the point of inflection. Join this point to the beginning of the surface
runoff by smooth curve.
Direct runoff hydrograph: the surface runoff hydrograph obtained after separating base flow
Types of stream:
 Perennial: always carry flow
 Intermittent: limited contribution from groundwater
 Ephemeral: no base flow
Yield: total quantity of water that can be expected from a stream in a given period.
5.3 Unit hydrographs, their uses and limitations
A unit hydrograph (UH) of a basin is defined as a direct runoff hydrograph (DRH) resulting from one unit
depth of rainfall excess generated uniformly over the basin at a constant rate for an effective duration
(D). The term unit refers to a unit depth of rainfall excess which is 1cm in SI unit and 1 inch in FPS unit.
Duration of unit hydrograph (D-hour UH): duration of rainfall excess
Assumptions:
 Constant intensity of excess rainfall within the effective duration
 Uniform distribution of excess rainfall over the basin
 Constant base time of the DRH for excess rainfall of given duration
 Linear model: principle of superposition and proportionality holds
 Principle of time invariance holds (Given excess rainfall will always produce the same DRH
whatever may be the season of the year - unchanging basin characteristics)
Principles applied in UH:
1. Linearity principles
a. Principle of proportionality: If a solution y is multiplied by a constant c, the resulting
function ‘cy’ is also a solution.
b. Principle of superposition: If two solutions y1 and y2 of the equation are added, the
resulting function ‘y1+y2’ is also a solution of the equation.
2. Principle of time invariance: Given excess rainfall will always produce the same DRH whatever
may be the season of the year (unchanging basin characteristics)
Features:
 Rainfall excess (re) =1cm, runoff depth (rd) = 1cm
 Continuity: Total depth of rainfall excess = total depth of direct runoff
 Runoff volume (Vd) = Basin area(A) x rd = Ax1cm
 Rainfall intensity: 1/D in cm/h
 Lumped response: catchment as a single unit
 Initial loss absorbed by basin, no effect of antecedent storm condition
Applications of UH:
 Computation of flood hydrograph for the design of hydraulic structures
 Extension of flow records at a site
 Flood forecasting
 Comparing the basin characteristics
Limitations of UH:
 Minimum basin size> 2km2, Maximum basin size up to 5000 km2
 Not suitable for very long basins
 Applicable for short duration
 Not very suitable for basins having large snow cover
 UH is not applicable for basins having large storages
 UH is not applicable for basins having high variation of rainfall intensity.
5.4 Derivation of unit hydrographs from isolated and complex storms

Selection criteria for flood hydrograph:
 Selection of isolated storms occurring individually
 Fairly uniform rainfall over the entire basin
 Duration of rainfall: 1/5 to 1/3 of basin lag
 Range of rainfall excess: 1 to 4 cm
1. Derivation of UH for single storm
Single storm: all of the rainfall excess occurs at a reasonably uniform rate over a fairly short time
period.
Given: streamflow data and basin area (A)
Procedure:
 Separate baseflow
 Compute DRH by subtracting baseflow from given streamflow data
 Compute volume of direct runoff
 Volume of DRH (Vd) = 𝑄𝑡 ∆𝑡
 Compute runoff depth (rd): rd = Vd/A
 Divide DRH by rd
 Effective duration of UH = Duration of excess rainfall.
 Check whether total depth of runoff = total rainfall excess
2. Derivation of UH for multiple (complex) storms
Multiple storms: relatively long and varying intensities of rainfall
Storms: divided into number of equal periods and fairly constant rate of rainfall for each period
Duration of UH = Duration of period of each storm
Given: DRH data and rainfall excess data (If DRH is not given, compute base flow and compute DRH
by subtracting baseflow from streamflow data)
Procedure: De-convolution method
𝐾
 Convolution Equation: 𝑄𝑛 = 𝑚 =1 𝑃𝑚 𝑈𝑛−𝑚 +1
Where, n = number of runoff ordinates; m = number of periods of rainfall excess; Qn = DR

Pm= ER; Un-m+1 = UH ordinate; K = n if n<=m and K = m if n>m.
 Use above equation for computing ordinate of UH with excess rainfall and direct runoff data.
 For complex multi-peaked hydrograph: solution of above equation by least square
regression.
Computation of runoff from given UH:
1. Single storm
 To compute DRH ordinate, multiply the ordinate of UH by the rainfall excess.
 To compute total runoff, add baseflow to DR.
2. Multiple storms
Given: UH and effective rainfall for multiple durations
Use principle of proportionality and superposition
 Multiply the ordinate of UH by first rainfall excess.
 From second rainfall excess onwards, multiply the ordinate of UH by rainfall excess by lagging
with a time interval equal to the time interval of rainfall excess.
 Add the ordinates of DRH for each rainfall excess to get total direct runoff.
 To compute total runoff, add baseflow to DR.
S-Hydrograph: S Hydrograph is a hydrograph resulting from a continuous excess rainfall at a constant
rate of 1cm/h for an indefinite period. It is a theoretical concept. The curve is named S hydrograph as it
looks like deformed S shape. The curve is obtained by adding a series of D-h unit hydrographs spaced at
D-h apart.
Fig. 5.3: S-Curve

The S-curve reaches a maximum equilibrium discharge at a time equal to the time base of the first unit
hydrograph.
Unit rainfall excess = 1 cm in D hr
Rainfall intensity = 1/D in cm/hr
If A = basin area in km2 and D is in hour, then
1 1 𝐴
Equilibrium discharge 𝑄𝑠 = 𝐷
𝑥 3600 𝑥100 𝐴𝑥106 = 2.778 𝐷 m3/s
Construction of S-curve:
U(t) = S(t) – S(t-D)
S(t) = U(t)+ S(t-D)
Where, D = Duration of UH, S(t) = ordinate of S-curve at t, U(t) = ordinate of UH at t, S(t-D) = ordinate of
S-curve at t-D
In other words,
Ordinate of S-curve at t = ordinate of D-hr UH at t + S-curve addition at time t
For 𝑡 ≤ 𝐷, S(t-D) = 0.
5.5 Derivation of unit hydrographs of different durations

In the computation of flood hydrograph, if the duration (D) of given UH and the duration (D’) of excess
rainfall is different, then the UH of D hour should be converted to UH of D’ hour.
Given: UH of duration D
To compute: UH of duration D’
Calculate: n = D’/D; If n is integer, use superposition method or S-curve method. If n is real, use S-curve
method.
Superposition method:
1. Lag the UH ordinate by D, 2D, ….(n-1)D.
2. Add the ordinates of all UHs (U1)
3. Ordinate of D’-hour UH = U1/n
S Hydrograph method:
1. Compute S-curve addition (=S(t-D)).
2. Compute the ordinate of S-curve: S1 = UH(t)+ S(t-D)
3. Lag the ordinates of S1 hydrograph by the duration D’. This is S2.
4. Ordinate of D’-hour UH= (S1-S2)/n
In case of D’<D, first plot the given UH and read the values with time interval equal to D’. Compute the
ordinates of S-Hydrograph by summing the ordinates at an interval equal to D. Then follow step 2, 3 and
4 as above.
If the ordinates of UH becomes negative or shows fluctuations in the tail part, then correct the ordinates
manually in such a way that the successive ordinates in the recession part are in descending order.

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Chapter 5: Hydrograph analysis

Rising limb Recession limb

5.2 Separation of base flow

Fig. 5.2: Base flow separation methods

5.4 Derivation of unit hydrographs from isolated and complex storms

Where, n = number of runoff ordinates; m = number of periods of rainfall excess; Qn = DR

Fig. 5.3: S-Curve

5.5 Derivation of unit hydrographs of different durations

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