Excel-Based Tool for Automatic Calibration of Urban Drainage System Models

Abstract

Climate change and aging infrastructure are the main stressors for existing urban drainage systems (UDS), causing more frequent overloading. The locations of flooded areas and system behavior under different scenarios can be analyzed using calibrated SWMM5 models. This study presents the implementation of an automatic calibration module designed for SWMM5. This module can be utilized for different types of drainage systems, including those that contain only impervious subareas, a mix of impervious and pervious subareas, as well systems that include natural ditches or channels. The latter are the most complex because, in this case, it is necessary to include the inflow of groundwater to the model. A dynamic link library (DLL) created by the authors enables automatic calibration of 21 parameters in SWMM5 in previously defined limits. The module enables calibrating up to five parameters simultaneously. This study presents different strategies for calibration, describes their limitations and possible solutions.

Keywords

• urban drainage system modeling
• SWMM5
• DLL for automatic calibration
• urban water systems