FACULTY: ENNGINEERING

TECHNOLOGY
LABORATORY: HYDRAULICS AND
HYDROLOGY

EDITION:
REVISION NO:
EFFECTIVE DATE:

EXPERIMENT: BASIC HYDROLOGY

AMENDMENT
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
DATE:
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

HYDRAULICS AND HYDROLOGY LABORATORY

LABORATORY INSTRUCTION SHEETS
COURSE CODE

BNP 20103

EXPERIMENT NO.

EXPERIMENT TITLE

BASIC HYDROLOGY

DATE

27/9/2016

GROUP NO.

LECTURER/ INSTRUCTOR/
TUTOR
DATE OF REPORT
SUBMISSION

DISTRIBUTION OF MARKS
FOR LABORATORY REPORT

1) MADAM ZARINA BINTI MD ALI

2) DR NOR HASLINA BT MOHD HASHIM
4/10/2016
ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION/DISPLINE
INTRODUCTION:
PROCEDURE:
RESULTS & CALCULATIONS
ANALYSIS
DISCUSSIONS:
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:
CONCLUSION:
SUGGESTION & RECOMENDATIONS
REFERENCES:
TOTAL:

EXAMINER COMMENTS:

RECEIVED DATE AND STAMP

/5%
/5%
/5%
/15%
/15%
/20%
/15%
/10%
/5%
/5%
/100%

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STUDENT CODE OF ETHICS

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

I hereby declare that I have prepared this report with my own efforts. I also admit to not accept or
provide any assistance in preparing this report and anything that is in it is true.

1) Group Leader
Name
:
Matrix No :
2) Group Member 1
Name
:
Matrix No :
3) Group Member 2
Name
:
Matrix No :
4) Group Member 3
Name
:
Matrix No :

__________________________________________(Signature)
HARDIAM SYAM BIN JAMALUDDIN
AN150288
__________________________________________(Signature)
INA SYAZWANI BINTI HAMZAH
AN150020
__________________________________________(Signature)
IZZATI BINTI ABDUL MANAF
AN150115
__________________________________________(Signature)
KU NUR FARZANA BINTI KU ADZMAN
AN150154

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1.0 OBJECTIVE
To identify the relationship between rainfall and runof.

2.0 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, students should be able to apply the knowledge and skills they have
learned to:
a. Understand the basic terms in hydrology.
b. Understand the concept of watershed area including time of concentration (tc) and outlet
or concentration point.
c. Understand the factors which influence the runoff.

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3.0 INTRODUCTION / THEORY

3.1 Runoff is generated by rainstorms and its occurrence and quantity are dependent on the
characteristics of the rainfall event, i.e. intensity, duration and distribution. The rainfallrunoff process is extremely complex, making it difficult to model accurately. There are,
in addition, other important factors which influence the runoff generating process like
natural surface detention, soil infiltration characteristics and the drainage pattern formed
by natural flow paths. The soil type, vegetative cover and topography play as important
roles. Rainfall and runoff are very important hydrologic components because of their
direct relations with water resources quantity, flood, streamflow and design of dam and
hydraulic structure.

4.0 EQUIPMENTS
4.1 Basic hydrological instrument
4.2 Stop watch
4.3 Rain gauge

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5.0 PROCEDURES
a) Case 1: Flat and sandy soils surface with 1:100 slope profile
The rail at side of the catchment area was adjusted to justify according the requirement
for case 1 (from upstream to downstream).
The steel ruler was used to measure the depth (mm) of the sandy soils.
The pump was switched on and the stop watch was started when the water level
reading equal to 0.
The water level every 30 seconds (during the rainfall) and the reading from the rain
gauge (mm) were recorded at the same time.
When the peak level achieved (after 6 water level readings with same values obtained),
switched off the pump to stop the rainfall. The time were recorded while stop of rainfall.
At the same time, the water level readings must be recorded for each 30 seconds until
the values reach nearly zero.
Table 6.1 was filled. The discharge (m3/s) were calculated by referring to the provided
graph attached to the equipment.

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6.0 RESULTS AND CALCULATIONS

TABLE 6.1 Basic hydrological experiment results
Time,
t
(s)
40
80
120
160
200
240
280
320
360
400
440
480
520
560
600
640
680
720
760
800
840
880
920
960
1000
1040
Total

Case 1
Water Level
(cm)
0
0.5
2.5
2.9
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.1
2.1
1.6
1.2
1.2
0.9
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6

(mm)
0
5
25
29
31
31
31
31
31
21
16
12
12
9
8
8
8
7
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
6

Discharge
(liter/min)
0
0.3
8.8
12.5
15.0
15.0
15.0
15.0
15.0
5.5
2.8
1.4
1.4
0.8
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4

(m/s)
0
0.000005
0.000150
0.000210
0.000250
0.000250
0.000250
0.000250
0.000250
0.000092
0.000047
0.000023
0.000023
0.000013
0.000012
0.000012
0.000012
0.000008
0.000008
0.000008
0.000007
0.000007
0.000007
0.000007
0.000007
0.000007

Example of calculation
At t= 80 s , discharge = 0.3

litre 0.001 m3 1 min

m3

=0.000005
min
1 litre
60 s
s

Rain gauge
reading
(mm)
22
22
24
24
26
26
26
24
23
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
217

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7.0 QUESTIONS
7.1 Plot the discharge (unit m3/s) versus time (second) graph separately from the above
values for each cases (case 1 and case 2).

Discharge, Q (m/s) vs Time, t (s)

Disharge, Q (m/s)

40 120 200 280 360 440 520 600 680 760 840 920 1000
80 160 240 320 400 480 560 640 720 800 880 960 1040
Time, t (s)

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1.1 From the graph plotted, determine:

(a) Time concentration
When the discharge is constant, the value is between 200 and 360 seconds.
So, 200 < t c < 360 seconds.
(b) Rainfall duration
The constant value of discharge dropped at 360 seconds, meaning that the water in
the soil had decreased from the maximum volume of water the soil can hold, which
means the rain had stopped. Therefore, the rainfall duration is 360 seconds.
(c) Peak discharge
Peak discharge is the highest point on the hydrograph when the rate of discharge is
the greatest, so peak discharge is 0.00025 m/s.
(d) Runoff volume
Runoff volume = Area under the graph

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Discharge, Q (m/s) vs Time, t (s)

Disharge, Q (m/s)

Time, t (s)

Calculation for areas:

A=

1
( 40 ) ( 0.000005 ) = 1 10-4 m 3
2

B=

1
( 0.000005 + 0.00015 ) (40) = 3.1 10 -3 m 3
2

C=

1
( 0.00015 + 0.00021 ) (40) = 7.2 10-3 m 3
2

D=

1
( 0.00021 + 0.00025 ) (40) = 9.2 10 -3 m 3
2

E = (160) ( 0.00025 ) = 0.04 m 3

F=

1
( 0.00025 + 0.000092 ) (40) = 6.84 10-3 m 3
2

G=

1
( 0.000092 + 0.000047 ) (40) = 2.78 10 -3 m 3
2

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H=

AMENDMENT
DATE:

1
( 0.000047 + 0.000023 ) (40) = 1.4 10 -3 m 3
2

I = (40) ( 0.000023 ) = 9.2 10 -4 m 3

J=

1
( 0.000023 + 0.000013 ) (40) = 7.2 10 -4 m 3
2

K=

1
( 0.000013 + 0.000012) (40) = 5 10-4 m 3
2

L = (80) ( 0.000012) = 9.6 10 -4 m 3

M=

1
( 0.000012 + 0.000008 ) (40) = 4 10 -4 m 3
2

N = (80) ( 0.000008 ) = 6.4 10-4 m 3

O=

1
( 0.000008 + 0.000007 ) (40) = 3 10 -4 m 3
2

P = (200) ( 0.000007 ) = 1.4 10-3 m 3

Total Area = A+B+C+D+E+F+G+H+I+J+K+L+M+N+O+P
= 7.65 10 -2 m 3
Runoff volume = 7.65 10 -2 m 3

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(a) Rainfall intensity

Rainfall intensity =
=

Maximum rain gauge

Rain duration
26 mm
360 s

= 0.0722 m/s
(b) Storage volume
Storage volume = Total rainfall Total runoff
= (Total rain gauge reading Catchment area) Total runoff
= (Total rain gauge reading [0.6 1.8] m) Total runoff
= ([217 103 m 1.08 m) - 7.65 10 -2 m
= 0.1579 m
7.2 Provide a table for all the results obtained from (2).
Time concentration (s)

7.3

200 < t c < 360

Rainfall duration (s)

360

Peak discharge (m/s)

0.00025

Rainfall intensity (mm/s)

0.0722

Storage volume (m)

0.1579

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8.0 APPENDIX

AMENDMENT
DATE:

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Prepared by / Disediakan oleh:

AMENDMENT
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Approved by / Disahkan oleh :

DATA ANALYSIS
Signature/Tandatangan:

Signature / Tandatangan :

Name/Nama: DR. NOR HASLINA HASHIM

Name / Nama : ASSOC. PROF. DR. ISHAK

Date/Tarikh
AUGUST 2016
From the: experiment,
we can

BABAinside the soil, they have a

see that water can absorb fast because
Date / Tarikh : AUGUST 2016

lot of void. Also from the experiment, we consider that the soil is dry, after plot a graph of infiltration
rate versus time. The process of infiltration is quite fast because they can easily absorbed water inside
the soil. So, the water rapidly absorbed inside the soil during the experiment was carried out.
The infiltration capacity of the soil depends on its texture and structure, as well as on the
antecedent soil moisture content. The initial capacity of a dry soil is high but, as the storm continues, it
decreases until it reaches a steady value termed as final infiltration rate.
Based on our results, the water level in the beginning of the experiment is increase rapidly with
just per second. In other words, it took several seconds just to achieve the peak level. However, the
water level that is continued to be record from the peak level as soon as the rainfall began to stop take
much more times rather than when its start to rain.
Up until several constant of water level reading, we decided to stop recording the data. The full
depiction of our results for this experiment can be seen more clearly with the graph included in the
report.

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DISCUSSION
Runoff is generated by rainstorms and its occurrence and quantity are dependent on the characteristics of
the rainfall event, i.e. intensity, duration and distribution. There are, in addition, other important factors
which influence the runoff generating process. The rainfall-runoff process is extremely complex, making it
difficult to model accurately. There are, in addition, other important factors which influence the runoff
generating process like natural surface detention, soil infiltration characteristics and the drainage pattern
formed by natural flow paths.
Factors affecting runoff are:
Soil type
The infiltration capacity is among others dependent on the porosity of a soil which determines the water
storage capacity and affects the resistance of water to flow into deeper layers. Porosity differs from one
soil type to the other. The highest infiltration capacities are observed in loose, sandy soils while heavy clay
or loamy soils have considerable smaller infiltration capacities. The infiltration capacity depends further
more on the moisture content prevailing in a soil at the onset of a rainstorm. The initial high capacity
decreases with time (provided the rain does not stop) until it reaches a constant value as the soil profile
becomes saturated.
Vegetation
The amount of rain lost to interception storage on the foliage depends on the kind of vegetation and its
growth stage. Values of interception are between 1 and 4 mm. A cereal crop, for example, has a smaller
storage capacity than a dense grass cover. More significant is the effect the vegetation has on the
infiltration capacity of the soil. A dense vegetation cover shields the soil from the raindrop impact and
reduces the crusting effect as described earlier. In addition, the root system as well as organic matter in the
soil will increase the soil porosity thus allowing more water to infiltrate. Vegetation also retards the
surface flow particularly on gentle slopes, giving the water more time to infiltrate and to evaporate. In
conclusion, an area densely covered with vegetation, yields less runoff than bare ground.

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Slope and catchment size

Investigations on experimental runoff plots have shown that steep slope plots yield more runoff than
those with gentle slopes. In addition, it was observed that the quantity of runoff decreased with
increasing slope length. This is mainly due to lower flow velocities and subsequently a longer time of
concentration (defined as the time needed for a drop of water to reach the outlet of a catchment from
the most remote location in the catchment).This means that the water is exposed for a longer duration to
infiltration and evaporation before it reaches the measuring point. The same applies when catchment
areas of different sizes are compared. The runoff efficiency (volume of runoff per unit of area)
increases with the decreasing size of the catchment i.e. the larger the size of the catchment the larger the
time of concentration and the smaller the runoff efficiency.
Rainfall-runoff processes
Apart from recording and forecasting rainfall itself, the next most important problem is understand and
forecasting the runoff generated by the rainfall. This difficult problem has attracted enormous amounts
of attention and effort around the world. There are possibly as many models for calculating rainfallrunoff, as there are people who have a direct interest in the subject. Runoff generation from rainfall
over a catchment can be assumed to depend on factors such as:

Atmospheric conditions over the catchment (wind speed, direction, temperature, humidity)
The surface cover (type, distribution, interception, take up, evapotranspiration)
Surface soil (type, permeability, porosity)
Terrain (slope, surface texture)
Geology (structure distribution, permeability, porosity, groundwater levels)Generally the
following processes are usually identified as taking place:
Evapotranspiration at the surface
Surface infiltration
Overland flow
Unsaturated zone flow
Saturated zone flow (groundwater)

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Rainfall and runoff are very important hydrologic components because of their direct relations with
water resources quantity, flood, stream flow and design of dam and hydraulic structure. To convert
discharge volume in liter/min to m3/s, we use this formula:

Q , Liter
1 m3
min

min
1000 liter 60 s

Based on the graph discharge versus time, we get the bell shape graph. The value of discharge increase
when the time increases.

SUGGESTION& RECOMMENDATION
During the experiment some errors existed which a little bit affects the result of the test. Some of the
errors detected are:
1. Readings taken was not very accurate
2. The soil was still wet before the test started
3. Instrument drift
To avoid the errors some precaution steps can be used in order to achieve better results. The list of the
precaution steps are as follows:
1. Avoid parallax error when taking measurements by making sure the eye of the observer is
perpendicular to the scale.
2. Make sure that the readings were taken at the meniscus.
3. Make sure the soil is already dry, flattened and distributed all over the machine.

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CONCLUSION

As the conclusion of this experiment, we clearly understand the basic terms in hydrology which
is how to relate the relationship between the process of runoff and rainfall event. Based on the
experiment results, we can prove that when the rainfall increased, the runoff will also increases. The
result occurs after the runoff reached the time of maximum discharge.

It shows that the watershed is important to increase the infiltration of rainwater. In hydrology,
time of concentration is a concept to measure the response of a watershed to a rain event. It is defined
as the time needed for water to flow from the most remote point in a watershed to the watershed outlet.
In addition, runoff is one of the most important hydrology component because of it connection with the
water source quantity, flood and others hydraulic control structure. This occurs when the rate
of rainfall on a surface exceeds the rate at which water can infiltrate the ground.

From the experiment conducted, we can apply this to control the flood using the applications of
the basic hydrology system. Other than that, we can design a dam and drain by applying this
knowledge. Then, we also can determine all factors that effected runoff such as rain fall intensity, type
of surfaces, rainfall duration and others.

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REFERENCES

1. https://www.scribd.com/doc/174047240/BASIC-HYDROLOGY-INFILTRATION-TEST.
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_of_concentration