An estimation of discharge using mean velocity derived through Chiu’s velocity equation

To estimate discharge through the year (dry season and flood season), a stage–discharge curve derived through monitoring discharge in about 20 rivers or channels every year has been generally used. As revealed in many studies, however, the stage–discharge curve is inevitably affected by their hydraulic characteristics. This suggests that the use of a stage–discharge curve derived without considering hydraulic characteristics unique to a river or channel may produce significant errors in estimating discharge at not only low stage (during dry seasons) but also high stage (during flood seasons). In this study, the authors proposed a method to calculate the mean velocity and to estimate the discharge considering the hydraulic characteristics of a river or channel (e.g. the bed slope, wetted perimeter, width, kinematic viscosity, etc.); the method was developed using Chiu’s velocity equation. With the proposed method, it is possible to calculate a maximum velocity that is difficult to measure in an open channel, derive an entropy function representing the equilibrium of the channel, and thereby, estimate reliable discharge even in a flood season. To comparatively verify the utility of the proposed method, relations between the results of analysis using Manning’s and Chezy’s mean velocity equations and the values of measured discharge were addressed together. The results of analysis using lab data sets and measured data sets revealed that the proposed method was significantly more accurate in estimating discharge, even in flood seasons, when compared with the conventional method.