TIME OF CONCENTRATION FORMULA FOR SHEET FLOW

OF V ARYING FLOW REGIME

By Tommy S. W. Wong l and Charng-Ning Chen/ Members, ASCE

ABSTRACT: For an overland plane with rainfall as the lateral inflow, the flow regime is complicated by the
varying flow depth and velocity along the plane. The flow regime becomes variable. For a plane that is suffi-
ciently long, from the upstream to the downstream end of ~he plane,. the fl~w regime may. chang 7 from laminar
through transitional to turbulent. In this paper, by couphng the kin~matic wave equ~tlOns WIt?
the D~cy­
Weisbach friction formula, a time of concentration formula for a portion of a plane subject to umform ramfall
excess and a constant upstream inflow is derived. This formula is applicable to a portion of plane with a si~gle
flow regime only. For practical application, this formula is further developed for a p~ane of umform slope subJe~t
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to uniform rainfall excess, with flow regime varying from laminar through transitIOnal to turbulent. An apph-
cation of the formula for varying flow regime shows that its time of concentration estimate is longer than those
based on a single flow regime covering the entire plane.

INTRODUCTION the assumptions involved in the formulation can be clearly

Essential to numerous drainage design methods for small
basins is a parameter known as the "time of concentration"
(Kibler 1982). This parameter is used as a basis for selecting
the design rainfall intensity from the rainfall intensity-dura-
tion-frequency curve of that location. The peak discharge of
the basin is then estimated from the selected intensity. For a
typical drainage basin comprising overland planes and drain-
age channels, Yen (1982) asserted that the two flow compo-
nents should be evaluated separately, as they are really two
separate, sequential systems. Further, Kibler and Aron (1983)
showed that the time of concentration methods that consider
the two flow components separately gave better estimates.
For an overland plane with rainfall as the lateral inflow, the
flow regime is complicated by the varying flow depth and
velocity along the plane. The flow regime becomes variable.
For a plane that is sufficiently long, from the upstream to the
downstream end of the plane, the flow regime may change
from laminar through transitional to turbulent. In this paper,
by coupling the kinematic wave equations with the Darcy-
Weisbach friction formula, a time of concentration formula is
derived. The formula is applicable to flow over a plane with
flow regime varying from laminar through transitional to tur-
bulent.
PREVIOUS FORMULATIONS
Traditionally, the time of concentration is considered to be
the time required for water to flow from the hydraulically re-
motest part of the drainage basin to the point of interest. To
estimate the time of concentration for a plane with sheet flow
only, nomographs such as Kerby (1959), Seelye (196~) and
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (1970) are avallable.
These nomographs are graphical solutions of empirical equa-
tions that relate the time of concentration to the physical char-
acteristics of the plane. However, these nomographs were de-
veloped for given conditions that make them di~ficult to a~ply
to general situations. On the other hand, a phySics-based time
of concentration formula would be suitable for general use and
lS r. Lect., School of Civ. and Struct. Engrg., Nanyang Tech. Univ.•
Nanyang Ave., Singapore 639798. Singapore.
2prof., School of Civ. and Struct. Engrg., Nanyang Tech. Univ.• Nan-
yang Ave., Singapore 639798, Singapore. . to -
Note. Discussion open until December I, 1997. To extend the closmg
date one month. a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager
of Journals. The manuscript for this technical note was submitted for
review and possible publication on April 17, 1996. This technical note is
part of the Jourmzl of Hydrologic Engineering, Vol. 2. No.3, July, 1997.
©ASCE, ISSN 1084-0699/97/0003-0136-0139/$4.00 + $.50 per page.
Technical Note No. 13063.
136/ JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGIC ENGINEERING / JULY 1997
stated. The use of the kinematic wave equations offers such
an advantage (Akan 1986). Based on the kinematic wave the-
ory, the time of concentration is now considered to be the time
required for the flow to reach equilibrium over the entire plane.
By coupling the kinematic wave equations with Manning's
equation, Woolhiser and Liggett (1967) developed a time of
concentration formula for flow over a plane subject to uniform
rainfall excess, and Ragan and Duru (1972) and Agiralioglu
and Singh (1981) developed nomographs for the same for-
mula. This formula was first extended to planes subject to
uniform rainfall excess and with a constant upstream inflow
(Wong 1995). Subsequently, it was further extended to planes
that are in a series (Wong 1996). As the validity of Manning's
equation is for turbulent or near turbulent flows only (Yen
1992), the application of the kinematic Manning formulation
is limited to these flow regimes.
As sheet flow is characterized by slow velocity and shallow
depth, the flow may not be turbulent. By means of the kine-
matic Darcy-Weisbach formulation, Chen and Wong (1993)
developed a time of concentration formula for sheet flow that
is applicable to laminar, transitional, or turbulent flow. This
formula, however, is limited to flow with a single flow regime
covering the entire plane. For planes with more than one type
of flow regime, earlier attempts were made by Bulter (1977)
and Singh (1988). They developed time of concentration for-
mulas for planes with laminar flow upstream and turbulent
flow downstream. Both formulations are based on Izzard's
(1946) empirical results.
DERIVATION OF FORMULA
Consider a plane of uniform slope subject to uniform rain-
fall excess, resulting in laminar flow at the upstream portion,
transitional flow at the middle portion, and turbulent flow at
the downstream portion of the plane.
Time of Concentration for One Portion of Plane
Derived from the kinematic wave equations for flow over a
plane with negligible backwater effect, the time of concentra-
tion for one portion of a plane is given by (Wong 1996)
__1_ [<qU + inLo)ll~ - q~I~J
(I)
1I~ •
a In
where to = time of concentration for the portion of plane of
length L o; qu = constant upstream inflow; in = ~niform ~et
rainfall intensity; and a and 13 = parameters relatmg the diS-
charge per unit width of the plane, q, to the flow depth, y, as
follows:

J. Hydrol. Eng. 1997.2:136-139.

 q = ay~
In fact, (1) is only valid if the values of a and 13 are constants
for a given portion of plane.
For laminar, transitional, or turbulent flow, the Darcy-Weis-
bach friction formula may be used to express the discharge-
depth relationship as defined by (2). The parameters a and 13
become
= (~~r(2-kl;
a 13 =3/(2 - k)
where g = acceleration due to gravity; S = slope of the over-
land plane in the direction of flow; v = kinematic viscosity of
water; and C and k = parameters relating the Darcy-Weisbach
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resistance coefficient,/. to the Reynolds number, R, as follows:
As the outflow from the portion of plane varies with time, to
account for the variable flow resistance due to varying dis-
charge in (5), the Reynolds number, R, is related to the in-
stantaneous outflow, q, as follows:
R = q/v
Notwithstanding the variation in flow resistance, (3) and (4)
show that the values of a and 13 are constants if the portion
of plane is of uniform slope and roughness and with a single
flow regime of constant temperature. Substituting (3) and (4)
into (1) gives
_ [0.21(3.6 x 106V)kC]1/3
to - S = respective downstream outflows from the portions of the
x [(3.6 X lO"qu + inLop-~r3 - (3.6 x I06qui2-kl/3]
The units are min for ta> m 2 S-I for v and qu, m m- I for S, m
for L o' and mm h- I for in. Earlier investigations show that k =
° °
1 for laminar flow, and k = turbulent flow (Chow 1959). For
the intermediate value of k (i.e. < k < 1), the flow can be
classified as transitional. Thus, (7) can be applied to a portion
of plane with laminar, transitional, or turbulent flow regime.
If the upstream inflow is zero (qu = 0), (7) reduces to (Chen
and Wong 1993; Wong 1994)
_ [0.21(3.6 x 106vlCL~-k]"3
to - S.I+k
I"
Agiralioglu and Singh (1981) developed a nomograph of (8)
for the case of laminar flow (k = 1).
Since (8) is valid for flow with a single flow regime only,
it can be usefully deployed to examine the effect of flow re-
gime on the individual parameter that affects the time of con-
centration. Since k = 1 for laminar flow and k = 0 for turbulent
flow, the exponent for in in (8) is 0.667 for laminar flow and
0.333 turbulent flow. The effect of net rainfall intensity on the
time of concentration is therefore greatest for laminar flow.
Further, the in exponents in Hick's (1942) and Izzard's (1946)
empirical time of concentration formulas are in fact consistent
with that in laminar flow, while the in exponent in the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers' (1954) formula is consistent with
that in transitional flow with k = 0.5.
In addition, (8) shows that the time of concentration is re-
lated to the length-slope ratio of (Lo/S) for laminar flow and
(Lo /S I12 ) for turbulent flow. Hick's (1942) and Izzard's (1946)
formulas are again consistent with the laminar flow result. Ker-
by's (1959) and the kinematic Manning formulations (Wool-
hiser and Liggett 1967) are consistent with the turbulent flow
result. The FAA (1970) formula with the length-slope ratio of
(L~/2 /SI/3) is in fact consistent with the transitional flow result
with k = 0.5.
J. Hydrol. Eng. 1997.2:136-139.
(2) In addition to the rainfall intensity and the physical char-
acteristics of the overland plane, (8) indicates that the time of
concentration is also dependent on the kinematic viscosity of
water. Since the kinematic viscosity of water is a function of
its temperature, the time of concentration is dependent on the
temperature of water. For laminar flow, the time of concentra-
tion is 18% longer for water at lOoC as compared to water at
30°C. The effect of water temperature on the time of concen-
tration is less for transitional flow and has no effect on tur-
(3,4) bulent flow.
Time of Concentration for Entire Plane
For the overland plane with flow regime changing from
laminar at the upstream end through transitional to turbulent
(5) at the downstream end, the total length of the plane, L, is
related to the respective portions of the plane as follows:
(9)
where L I = length of the plane with laminar flow; L 2 = length
of the plane with transitional flow; and L 3 = length of the plane
(6) with turbulent flow. As the plane is continuous, the upstream
inflow to one portion of the plane is the downstream outflow
from the portion of the plane immediately upstream, i.e.
(10, II)
where qu2 and qu3 = respective upstream inflows to the portions
of plane with transitional and turbulent flows; and qdl and qd2
plane with laminar and transitional flows. For the portion of
(7)
the plane with laminar flow, the upstream inflow is assumed
zero (Le., qui = 0). Further, the downstream outflows from the
respective portions of the plane at equilibrium, qdle and qd2..
are related to the net rainfall intensity and the length of the
plane, as follows:
(12, 13)
The units are m 2 S-I for qdle and qd2.. mm h- I for in> and m
for L I and L 2 •
By substituting C = C h k = 1, qu = qui = 0, L o = L I for
laminar flow, C = C 2, k = 0.5, qu = qu2e = qdl.. La = L 2 for
transitional flow, and C = C 3, k = 0, qu = qu3e = qd2.. Lo = L 3
(8)
for turbulent flow, and (9), (12), and (13) into (7), the time of
concentration for the plane, te , is the summation of the times
of concentration for the three portions of the plane, as follows:
6
_ [0.21(3.6 x 10 V)CILI]"3 + [0.21(3.6 X 106V)I12C2]"3
te - S'2
'n S·3/2
t,.
. [(L I + L 2)1/2 - Ll /2 ] + [0'~;nC3] 113 [L2/3 - (L I + L 2)2/3] (14)
The units are min for te , m 2 S-I for v, m for L h L 2 and L, m
m- I for Sand mm h- I for in. In the application of (14), the
values of C h C2 , and C3 may be estimated from Yu and
McNown's (1964) or Wenzel's (1970) analysis of U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers' (1954) data. Further, for the purpose of
accounting the additional resistance to laminar flow due to
rainfall impact, the value of C I may be adjusted according to
Shen and Li's (1973) or Radojkovic and Maksimovic's (1987)
results. The effect of rainfall impact on the resistance of tran-
sitional and turbulent flows is negligible (Shen and Li 1973).
While (14) is only applicable to transitional flow with k = 0.5,
based on (7), further terms can be added to (14) such that
transitional flow with other values of k can also be included.
Further, (7) can be used to develop a time of concentration
formula for other combinations of flow regimes.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGIC ENGINEERING / JULY 1997/137
 Estimation of L1 and 4 fall excess, with flow regime changing from laminar at the
For a given overland plane subject to a given rainfall excess,
the extent of L I and (L 1 + L 2 ) can be estimated from the lower
and upper critical Reynolds numbers. The lower critical Rey-
nolds number, R.. is defined as the Reynolds number where
the flow regime changes from laminar to transitional. The up-
per critical Reynolds number, R2 , is defined as the Reynolds
number where the flow regime changes from transitional to
turbulent. The lower and upper critical Reynolds numbers are
related to the equilibrium unit discharges as follows:
(15, 16)
Substituting (15) into (12) and (16) into (13) gives
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LI = 3.6 X t06 vR l lin ; (L I + L 2 ) = 3.6 X 106vR 2 lin
(17,18)
The units are m for L I and L 2 , m 2
S-I for v and mm h- l
for in.
APPLICATION OF FORMULA
To demonstrate the potential use of the formula, (14) is ap-
plied to a 200-m long concrete plane, sloping at 1%, subject
to a uniform rainfall intensity of 100 rom h-l. Assuming
Radojkovic and Maksimovic's (1987) result is applicable to a
concrete surface, C I = 41.8. From Wenzel's (1970) analysis,
the estimated values of C2 and C3 are 2 and 0.04, respectively.
Substituting the values of C.. C2 , C3 , and their corresponding
k into (5) gives the flow resistance equations for laminar, tran-
sitional, and turbulent flows, as follows:
f= 41.8/R; f= 2/R o5 ; f= 0.04 (19-21)
6 2
Further, assuming v = 10- m S·I, R I = 200 and R 2 = 2,000;
from (17) and (18), L I = 7.2 m and (L I + L 2) = 72 m. The
lengths for the three portions of plane with laminar, transi-
tional, and turbulent flows are 7.2 m, 64.8 m, and 128 m,
respectively. From (14), the corresponding times of concentra-
tion for the three portions of plane are 1.32 min, 2.50 min,
and 3.44 min. The time of concentration for the entire plane
is 7.26 min.
Further, to demonstrate the difference in the time of con-
centration estimate from (14) as compared to the estimates
based on a single flow regime covering the entire plane, (8)
is applied to the same concrete plane. By applying (19) to
laminar flow, (20) to transitional flow, and (21) to turbulent
flow, the times of concentration for a single flow regime cov-
ering the entire plane are 3.98 min for laminar flow, 6.08 min
for transitional flow with k = 0.5, and 6.95 min for turbulent
flow. A comparison of (19), (20), or (21) for a plane with a
single flow regime to a combination of (19), (20), and (21)
for a plane with variable flow regime shows that the flow
resistance is generally lower for a plane with a single flow
regime. The shorter time of concentration estimates for the
case of single flow regime can be attributed to the lower flow
resistance.
CONCLUSIONS
By coupling the kinematic wave equations with the Darcy-
Weisbach friction formula, a time of concentration formula for
a portion of a plane subject to uniform rainfall excess and a
constant upstream inflow has been derived (7). This formula
is applicable to a portion of plane with a single flow regime
only. By comparing this formula for zero upstream inflow with
the published time of concentration formulas, it showed that
the exponents to the rainfall intensity and the length-slope ratio
can be related to specific flow regime.
For practical application, this formula has been further de-
veloped for a plane of uniform slope subject to uniform rain-
138/JOURNALOF HYDROLOGIC ENGINEERING/JULY 1997
J. Hydrol. Eng. 1997.2:136-139.
upstream end through transitional to turbulent at the down-
stream end of the plane (14). An application of the formula
for varying flow regime (14) shows that its time of concentra-
tion estimate is longer than those based on a single flow re-
gime covering the entire plane.
APPENDIX I. REFERENCES
Agiralioglu, N., and Singh, V. P. (1981). "Kinematic wave nomographs
for time of concentration and lag time." Irrig. and Power, 38(4),
351-358.
Akan, A. O. (1986). "Time of concentration of overland flow." J. lrrig.
and Drain. Engrg., ASCE, 112(4),283-292.
Bulter, S. S. (1977). "Overland-flow travel time versus Reynolds num-
ber." J. Hydro., 32,175-182.
Chen, C. N., and Wong, T. S. W. (1993). "Critical rainfall duration for
maximum discharge from overland plane." J. Hydr. Engrg., ASCE,
119(9), 1040-1045.
Chow, V. T. (1959). Open channel hydraulics. McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). (1970). "Airport drainage." Ad-
visory Circular No. I50/5320-5B, Department of Transportation, Wash-
ington, D.C.
Hicks, W. I. (1942). "Discussion of 'Surface runoff determination from
rainfall without using coefficients' by W. W. Homer and S. W. Jens."
Trans., ASCE, New York, N.Y., 107, 1097-1102.
Izzard, C. E (1946). "Hydraulics of runoff from developed surfaces."
Proc., 26th Annu. Meeting Hwy. Res. Board, National Research Coun-
cil, Washington, D.C., 129-150.
Kerby, W. S. (1959). "Time of concentration for overland flow." Civ.
Engrg., 29(3), 60.
Kibler, D. E (1982). "Desk-top methods for urban stormwater calcula-
tion." Urban stonnwater hydrology, Water Resources Monograph 7, D.
E Kibler, ed., American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C., 87 -135.
Kibler, D. E, and Aron, G. (1983). "Evaluation of Tc methods for urban
watersheds." Proc., Frontiers in Hydr. Engrg. Conf, H. T. Shen, ed.,
ASCE, New York, 553-558.
Radojkovic, M., and Maksimovic, C. (1987). "On standardization of
computational models for overland flow." Proc., 4th Int. Conf on Ur-
ban Stonn Drain., B. C. Yen, ed., International Association for Hy-
draulic Research, Lausanne, SWitzerland, 100-105.
Ragan, R. M., and Duru, J. O. (1972). "Kinematic wave nomograph for
times of concentration." J. Hydr. Div., ASCE, 98(10),1765-771.
Seelye, E. E. (1968). Design-data book for civil engineers. Vol. I, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
Shen, H. W., and Li, R. M. (1973). "Rainfall effect on sheet flow over
smooth surface." J. Hydr. Div., ASCE, 99(5), 771-792.
Singh, V. P. (1988). Hydrologic systems, Vol. I: Rainfall-runoffmodelling.
Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (1954). Data Rep., Airfield Drain. Inves-
tigation. Los Angeles District for the Office of the Chief of Engineers,
Washington, D.C.
Wenzel, H. G. (1970). "The effect of raindrop impact and surface rough-
ness on sheet flow." WRC Res. Rep. No. 34, Water Resources Centre,
University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill.
Wong, T. S. W. (1994). "Kinematic wave celerity and time of concen-
tration." Hydrological Sci. and Techno/., 10(1-4), 167 -177.
Wong, T. S. W. (1995). "Time of concentration formulae for planes with
upstream inflow." Hydrological Sci. J., Oxford, U.K., 40(5), 663-666.
Wong, T. S. W. (1996). "Time of concentration and peak discharge for-
mulas for planes in series." J. Irrig. and Drain. Engrg., ASCE, 122(4),
256-258.
Woolhiser, D. A., and Liggett, J. A. (1967). "Unsteady one-dimensional
flow over a plane-the rising hydrograph." Water Resour. Res., 3(3),
753-771.
Yen, B. C. (1982). "Some measures for evaluation and comparison of
simulated models." Proc., 2nd Int. Con! on Urban Stonn Drain., B.
C. Yen, ed., Water Resources Publications, Littleton, Colo., 341-349.
Yen, B. C. (1992). "Hydraulic resistance in open channels." Channel
flow resistance: Centennial of Manning's formula, B. C. Yen, ed., Wa-
ter Resources Publications, Littleton, Colo., 1-135.
Yu, Y. S., and McNown, J. S. (1964). "Runoff from impervious sur-
faces." J. Hydr. Res., 2(1),3-24.
APPENDIX II. NOTATION
The following symbols are used in this paper:
C = parameter relating f to R;
CI = value of C for portion of plane with laminar flow;
 C2 = value of C for portion of plane with transitional flow; qd2 downstream outflow from portion of plane with transi-
C3 = value of C for portion of plane with turbulent flow; tional flow;
f= Darcy-Weisbach resistance coefficient; qd~ = downstream outflow from portion of plane with transi-
g = acceleration due to gravity; tional flow at equilibrium;
in = uniform net rainfall intensity; qu = constant upstream inflow;
k = parameter relating f to R; quI = upstream inflow to portion of plane with laminar flow;
L total length of plane; qu2 = upstream inflow to portion of plane with transitional flow;
Lo length of a portion of plane;
qu3 = upstream inflow to portion of plane with turbulent flow;
Lt length of plane with laminar flow;
R = Reynolds number;
RI = lower critical Reynolds number;
L2 length of plane with transitional flow; R2 = upper critical Reynolds number;
L3 = length of plane with turbulent flow; S = slope of overland plane in direction of flow;
q discharge per unit width of plane; tc = time of concentration for plane of length L;
qdl downstream outflow from portion of plane with laminar to = time of concentration for portion of plane of length L o ;
flow; y flow depth;
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qdl, downstream outflow from portion of plane with laminar ex, ~ parameters relating q to y; and
flow at equilibrium; v = kinematic viscosity of water.

JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGIC ENGINEERING / JULY 1997/139

J. Hydrol. Eng. 1997.2:136-139.