Assessing the Retention Capacity of an Experimental Green Roof Prototype

Abstract

Cities with high urbanization produce impervious areas. Drainage network overload results in recurring flooding. Much of the damage could be prevented through proper urban planning and good drainage practices. While Low Impact Development techniques have been known for several years, it is essential to encourage the association of this type of technology with conventional micro-drainage structures to increase rainfall runoff at the source where it is generated. Thus, the present work aims to analyze the efficiency of the use of the green roof technique in reducing the peak of the flow and the retention capacity when subjected to heavy rains at the building scale, and also explores its effects in tropical climatic zones with measurements during the summer and fall. The method used was experimental analysis of the Green Roof prototype with bromeliad’s at CESA-UFRJ, whose main results are the hydrogram of each rain event and the runoff coefficient for rainfall in the range of 100 mm/h and 150 mm/h.