Analysis and application of a passive electronic analog model to the hydrologic regime of a watershed

Abstract

A digitally simulated electronic watershed analog has been developed for the analysis of the hydrologic regime of a watershed. Individual electrical circuits were designed to synthesize the physical characteristics of the hydrologic components of a watershed: interception, surface storage, runoff, infiltration, and subsurface storage. These circuits were related to pertinent empirical studies of significance to each component. Electrical circuit analogies, despite advantages inherent in their direct physical correspondence to hydrologic systems, have fallen into disuse due to the inflexibility of fixed component networks. A digital simulation program developed by the electrical engineering profession to provide flexibility in the design of electronic circuitry has been adapted for the simulation of the electronic watershed analog. The typical digital circuit analysis program is "canned" and the user need not understand its intricacies. Input is in the form of circuit parameters on punched cards. The output is in numeric or graphic form. Using digital simulation methodology, the electronic watershed analog has been used to analyze a 1.63 acre forested watershed.