Nepal Engineering College | Thesis Abstract

All Thesis Abstracts

Sustainability Assessment of Labdhu Dhikure Irrigation Project, Likhu Rural Municipality, Khanigaun, Nuwakot.

Yuba Raj Mishra

Dr. Dinesh Sukamani

Assessment of Knowledge and Technology Transfer in Building Construction Projects Executed by 'A' class Contractors in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

Arati Devkota

Asst. Prof. Sabir Baidya

Assessment of Post-Fire Safety Compliance and Emergency Preparedness in Post-Fire Restored Government Buildings.

Roshna Guragain

Assist. Prof. Dr. Dinesh Sukamani

Comparative Assessment of Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build Procurement Methods on Bridge Project Performance of the Department of Roads in Nepal.

Raju Prasad Poudel

Asst. Prof. Dinesh Sukamani

Development of Prioritization Framework for Post-Fire Rehabilitation Intervention Decision in Fire Damaged Buildings: Reference from Federal Minister Quarter Buildings at Bhaisepati, Lalitpur.

Ajaya Bista

Dr. Dinesh Sukamani

Rainwater Harvesting Systems as a Sustainable Solution for Urban Water Scarcity: Case Study of Suryabinayak Municipality.

Pratikshya Ghimire

Mr. Jagam Shrestha

Performance analysis of urban drainage in Dhangadhi: a comparing study of traditional Excel Design and Hykas Simulation.

Student: Bikas Paudyal

Supervisor: Ganesh Parajuli

Submitted Date: August, 2026

Abstract

Dhangadhi, a rapidly growing city in Nepal's Terai region, has faced chronic urban flooding due to its flat terrain and expanding impervious surfaces. To address this, the Asian Development Bank funded Regional Urban Development (RUDP) constructed stormwater drains using traditional, Excel based hydraulic design (Rational Method and Manning's Equation). However, no study had verified whether these drains actually reduced flooding, or whether the traditional design method itself gave a reliable, cost- effective picture of the network's true capacity. This study addressed that gap through three objectives: to assess the flood-mitigation impact of the RUDP drainage by comparing conditions before and after construction; to compare the accuracy of the Excel based design against HYKAS hydrodynamic simulation under steady and unsteady flow; and to identify the remaining operational challenges and propose improvements. An applied, comparative case-study design was used, combining primary and secondary data. A structured questionnaire was administered to 100 households across Wards 1, 4, 5 and 8, selected through stratified sampling, and analyzed using frequency distribution, chi-square tests and correlation analysis. In parallel, the RUDP's design data and 30 years (1987-2016) of rainfall records were used to model ten drainage sub-networks in HYKAS, comparing the conventional design against both steady-state and unsteady-state (full Saint-Venant) simulations. Results showed the RUDP drainage achieved significant flood reduction (81.2% to 12% frequent flooding, p<0.001) and revealed that traditional methods over-designed the network by 52% on average compared to realistic unsteady-state simulation, meaning existing drains have substantial spare capacity; the main problems remaining are operational—drain clogging and access constraints—not structural. The study concludes that HYKAS hydrodynamic simulation offers a more accurate and cost-effective basis than traditional spreadsheet methods for designing resilient urban drainage in similar flood-prone cities.

Keywords

Urban Drainage System, Performance Evaluation, Hydrodynamic Modeling, HYKAS, Steady-State vs. Unsteady-State, Flood Mitigation, Infrastructure Over-Design, Saint-Venant Equations, Terai Region.

THESIS ABSTRACT