Analysis of the Limitations of Bivariate Methods for Estimating Design Floods and Proposal of the IIUNAM Method

Abstract

Starting from the evident idea that the design of the spillway, that is, the capacity of the spillway and the volume allocated for flood regulation, in dams where this volume is considerable, depends on the maximum discharge and the volume of the inflows entering the reservoir; a large number of studies have been developed based on the fitting of bivariate probability distribution functions for these two variables. This paper presents an analysis that provides arguments to support the authors' opinion that the use of bivariate functions for the estimation of design floods in dams with considerable regulation capacity is not convenient. Instead, the method developed at the Institute of Engineering of UNAM is proposed.