HYDRAULIC CHARACTER OF FLOOD DRAINAGE SYSTEMS - PART-1 - HYDRAULIC BASIS

The wealth of professional experience gained in recent years clearly c onfirms hydraulic intuition that flood drainage systems (FDS) often di splay distinct hydraulic characters. This seems remarkable in a backgr ound where the FDS configurations are potentially unlimited owing to ( a) geomorphological diversity and hydrometric complexity and (b) multi -purpose utilitarian functions and subsequent attributes (such as land use, environment, public perception), Since conflicts are inevitable in these systems, a problem-solving procedure based on hydraulic model ling and holistic appraisals has been developed. This paper argues tha t such a problem-solving procedure may be enriched by identification o f hydraulic characters to offer a sense of direction for obtaining ins ights into the complexities of the FDS, Together with the case studies presented in the companion paper (Paper 11321(1)), this paper present s a review of prevailing hydraulic characters in the background of cur rent open channel flow modelling practices. Based on the dominance of spatially-distributed storage and dynamic effects and features such as distributive and locally-governed effects, the following hydraulic ch aracters were identified: attenuating, storing, responsive, retarding, spatially-distributed, inertial, distributive and locally-governed sy stems.