An Approximately Semi-Analytical Model for Describing Surface Runoff of Rainwater Over Sloped Land

Accurate prediction of surface runoff is critical to watershed management. In this research a semi-analytical model was adopted to solve the kinematic wave equation based on the assumption that the rate of overland-flow depth change is proportional to the rainfall excess. Simulations were compared with the results from laboratory experiments at various rain intensities. Parameters of infiltration rate and Manning’s roughness coefficient were determined. The accuracy of the semi-analytical model was evaluated by numerical simulations. The predicted outflow rates from the numerical simulations agreed well with the observed data. Further, our study indicated that the ratio (c) of the overland-flow depth change to the rainfall excess was a power function of the rain intensity. The depth and velocity of water flow at any time and distance could be calculated with the semi-analytical model. Hydraulic parameters including Reynolds number, Froude number, hydraulic shear stress, stream power and Darcy-Weisbach friction factor characterizing the dynamic features of overland flow of rainwater were calculated based on calculated overland-flow depth and velocity. The proposed analytical method can provide a new way to predict infiltration and runoff over sloped land.