Estimation and Calibration of Reaeration and Decay Rate Coefficient

Reaeration and decay rates are very important parameters in order to predict the

dissolved oxygen concentration in the river (Gonçalves, Silveira, Lopes Júnior, da Luz , &

Simões, 2017). Estimating reaeration and decay rate coefficient requires considerable efforts

since measuring these coefficients is laborious and expensive task. Hence, the coefficients used

in this study were estimated using developed equation. For the estimation of reaerations rates,

M. A. Churchill, H. L. Elmore and R. A. Buckingham's equation (1962) was used.

5V
k a (20C ) 
h5 / 3

where:

ka = reaeration rate at 20°C (/day)

V = mean velocity (m/s)

h = mean depth (m)

The calculated ka (20C ) were calibrated according to stream temperature using the formula:

k a  k a (20C ) x (T  20)

The temperature correction coefficient, θ, depends on the mixing condition of the river water

body. Values generally range from 1.005 to 1.030. In practice, a value of 1.024 is often used

(Thomann and Mueller, 1987).

Decay rate coefficients is also dependent on temperature. The formula for estimating

decay rate coefficient is

k d  k d (20C ) x (T  20)

where θ is 1.047. The typical value at the reference temperature 20 °C is commonly estimated

using the table below

 Waste Type Kd at 20 (day-1)
Raw domestic sewage 0.35-0.70
Treated domestic sewage 0.12-0.23
Polluted river water 0.12-0.23
Table 1: Typical values of the decay coefficient for various types of wastes. From [Davis and

Cornwell, 1991]