Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Sub-Department

Civil Engineering

First Advisor

Michael E. Meadows

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was to determine if it is possible to create, calibrate, and validate a computer simulation model given a limited amount of measured data. In June 1999, significant flooding was experienced throughout the Casey Canal North drainage basin in Savannah, Georgia. Time-depth rainfall data from a single gage was recorded for this event, along with peak water surface elevations throughout the basin. The computer model chosen for this application was XP-SWMM, which was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to simulate both one dimensional and two dimensional hydraulic models. XP-SWMM was chosen due to its ability to dynamically link the subsurface drainage system with the overland flow experienced during significant rainfall events. The measured peak water surface elevation data was divided into two, with one dataset used to calibrate the model and the second used for model verification. The model calibration was completed by manually adjusting certain hydrologic model parameters within an acceptable range in order to match field observed peak water surface elevations. The model evaluation showed that the peak water surface elevations estimated by the model matched the levels observed in the field and that inundated road intersections observed during the flooding event were correctly predicted by the model.

Rights

© 2015, Matthew Dale Ricks

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