Muskingum-Cunge Flood

Routing Procedure in NRCS

Hydrologic Models
Prepared by William Merkel
USDA-NRCS National Water
Quality and Quantity
Technology Development Team
Beltsville, Maryland

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 1

NRCS Hydrologic Models
 WinTR-20 Computer Program for
Project Formulation - Hydrology
 WinTR-55 Urban Hydrology for Small
Watersheds
 Both programs are developed for
Windows and are currently available
in final release versions.

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 2

Project Goals
 Incorporate Muskingum-Cunge
Procedure into WinTR-20 and WinTR-
55 Models
 Develop procedure applicable to any
cross section shape
 Evaluate accuracy in comparison to
dynamic wave routing

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 3

 Muskingum Routing Method

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 4

Muskingum Routing Method
 Based on conservation of mass
equation
 Relates reach storage to both inflow
and outflow discharges
 S = K { X I + ( 1 - X) O }
 K and X are determined for the
individual routing reach

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 5

Muskingum routing equation
 O2 = C1 I1 + C2 I2 + C3 O1
 O2 = outflow at time 2
 I1 = inflow at time 1
 I2 = inflow at time 2
 O1 = outflow at time 1
 C1, C2, C3 = routing coefficients
 C1 + C2 + C3 = 1.0
March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 6
 Distance vs Time Solution Grid
 X = distance, feet
 t = time, seconds
I2 O2

t
I1 x O1
x
March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 7
Muskingum-Cunge Method
 Derived from convection-diffusion
equation (simplification of full
dynamic equations)
 K and X determined from hydraulic
properties of the reach
 K is a timing parameter, seconds
 X is a diffusion parameter, no
dimensions
March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 8
Routing Coefficient - X
 X = 1/2 { 1 - [ Q / (B So c ∆x )]}
– Q = discharge, cubic feet / sec
– B = width of cross section, feet
– So = bed or friction slope, feet / feet
– c = wave celerity, feet / second
– ∆x = routing distance step, feet

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 9

Represent Rating Table by Power
Curve to estimate celerity
 Q=xAm and c=mQ/A
 x and m are based on Xsec Q and A
 for wide rectangular cross section,
m = 5/3
 for triangular cross section, m = 4/3
 for natural channels, 1.2 ~ m ~ 1.7

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 10

Routing Coefficient - K
 K = ∆x / c , seconds
– ∆x = routing distance step, feet
– Distance step is based on hydraulic
properties of reach
– c = wave celerity, feet / second

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 11

Data Requirements – Rating Table

 Elevation, feet
 Discharge, cubic feet / second
 Area, square feet
 Top Width, feet
 Friction Slope, feet / feet
 Reach length (channel / flood plain)

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 12

Assumptions / Limitations
 Equations developed for wide
rectangular cross sections
– width is top width
– celerity is 5/3 velocity using Manning
equation
– Q is a reference discharge
 What width, celerity, and Q should be
used for flood plain cross sections ?
March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 13
Channel Cross Section Plot

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 14

Channel Cross Section Rating
Curve Plot

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 15

Channel Cross Section Wave
Celerity versus Elevation Plot

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 16

Flood Plain Cross Section Plot

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 17

Flood Plain Cross Section Rating
Curve Plot

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 18

Flood Plain Cross Section Wave
Celerity versus Elevation Plot

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 19

Flood Routing Tests
 Compared WinTR-20 with NWS
FLDWAV
 Prismatic reach assumed
 tested variety of cross section
shapes
 tested variety of reach lengths,
slopes, and inflow hydrographs
 purpose was to determine limits
March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 20
Evaluation of error in peak
discharge
 Compare peak discharge at end of
reach
 Q* = (Qpo - Qb) / (Qpi - Qb)
 where: Qpi = peak inflow
 Qpo = peak outflow
 Qb = base flow

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 21

Results of constant coefficient
solution - channel tests

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 22

Results of constant coefficient
solution - flood plain tests

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 23

Results of constant coefficient
solution - all cross section tests

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 24

Muskingum-Cunge Warning
 It is always
recommended to
view the debug file

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 25

Muskingum-Cunge Warning

 This happens mostly on long - flat reaches

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 26

 Muskingum-Cunge Warning
 The peak inflow
and peak outflow
can occur at the
same time.

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 27

 Muskingum-Cunge Warning
 Changing the
reach to a
structure gives a
more reasonable
time shift.

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 28

Routing Meandering Channels
 Channel and Flood Plain reach lengths
may be different
 Low ground elevation is dividing point of
channel and flood plain flow
 Flow area is adjusted (usually decreased)
above the low ground elevation
 Adjusted rating table may be viewed in
debug output file (select Cross Section
Rating Table)

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 29

 Bankfull and Low Ground Elev.
 Where
bankfull
and low
ground
elevations
are
different.

Low Ground Bankfull

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 30
Application Strategy
 Select one cross section to represent the
WinTR-20 reach.
 The velocity is the key factor to look at.
 Picking a cross section with an average
velocity will give reasonable results.
 A computer program is being developed to
derive an average rating from a group of
HEC-RAS cross sections.

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 31

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 32
 The End

March 2009 WinTR-20 Course 33