Modification of the Fixed Coefficient Method for the Parameter Estimation of Storage Function Method

Abstract

The researches on the parameter estimation for storage function method have been conducted for a long time using different methods. However, the determination of the optimal parameters takes a long time and there is a controversy that the proposed optimal parameters do not likely represent the physical characteristics of watershed. In this study, the characteristics of the continuity and storage function equation was analyzed and sensitivities were evaluated. As the result, the only optimal solution is suggested among several local optimums. It is also shown that the lag time is able to be determined using the direct runoff starting time of the watershed. From the sensitivity analysis, it is also proved that the determination of the lag time is very important and the only optimal solution could be found easily after selecting the lag time. Therefore, unlike the traditional optimization method, the proposed method does not take a long time to find the optimal solution which is depending on the characteristics of the rainfall events. The fixed coefficient method which is a method to estimate the optimal parameters of storage function method has been modified using the proposed method. Therefore, the practical efficiency to apply storage function method could be enhanced by applying the proposed method. While the traditional method takes care only the error of the runoff hydrograph, it is very important that the proposed method considers the characteristics of the watershed.