THE HYDRAULIC JUMP

Contents

Abstract.................................................................................................................................. 5

Aims and Objectives...............................................................................................................5

Introduction............................................................................................................................ 5

Apparatus............................................................................................................................... 7

Methodology........................................................................................................................... 8

Results................................................................................................................................... 8

Analysis.................................................................................................................................. 9

Discussion............................................................................................................................ 15

Conclusion........................................................................................................................... 16

References........................................................................................................................... 16

List of tables

Table 1: Experimental results.................................................................................................6

Table 2: Critical depths........................................................................................................... 7

Table 3: Comparison between depths before and after the hydraulic jump............................9

Table 4: Specific energy calculation.......................................................................................9

Table 5: Specific energy comparison....................................................................................10

Table 6: Froude number classification..................................................................................11

Table 7: Momentum comparison..........................................................................................11

List of figures

Figure 1: Glass sided flume (Armfield, 2015)..........................................................................6

Figure 2: Adjustable undershot weir (Armfield, C4-MKII Multi-Purpose Teaching Flume)......6

Figure 3: Specific energy curves..........................................................................................11

 Abstract

This report presents a laboratory experiment for the formation of a hydraulic jump beneath

an undershot weir to firmly explore the effect of various factors on the nature of a hydraulic

jump. The experiment illustrated the behavior of supercritical flow under a weir for various

flow rates and upstream depths. Ten runs were carried out to investigate the computations

regarding conjugate depth, critical depth, changes in specific energy and conservation of

momentum. The type of jump attributed to the various upstream Froude numbers has been

obtained as well.

Aims and Objectives

 To visualize the hydraulic jump phenomena when water flows beneath and undershot

weir

 To calculate critical depth, upstream depth, downstream depth and produce specific

energy curves for the flows

 To determine energy losses through the jump

Introduction

A hydraulic jump occurs in an open channel such as a spillway or a river. Fluid flowing from

a region of high velocity to one of low velocity experiences a sudden rise in height. The high

velocity fluid converts a portion of its kinetic energy into potential energy while a percentage

of energy is lost through heat. Its formation is similar to that of a shock wave as fast flowing

fluid piles on top of itself.

The initial velocity of the fluid determines the formation of a hydraulic jump. For the

phenomena to occur, this initial velocity has to be greater than the critical speed. When it is

lower, the transition occurs as an undulating wave. With increasing initial velocities, the
transition gets more sudden, until the critical speed when the transition front breaks and

curls up back on itself. This occurrence is accompanied by eddying, turbulence surface

undulations or air entrainment.

An undershot weir is a good example of the formation of a hydraulic jump where fluid flow

experiences high velocity under gates with a small upstream depth and reaches a higher

conjugate depth downstream far from the gate and at a lower velocity. The parameter

Froude number shows the differing flow velocities; supercritical flow occurs at Froude

number greater than 1 while subcritical flow is shown by Froude numbers less than 1.

A hydraulic jump is useful in dissipating energy downstream of a spillway. Upstream, water

accumulation is associated with high velocity which may cause scour and bed erosion.

Downstream, the flow velocity is reduced which prevents this. Research by (Gyewoon,

Choi, H, & S, 2015) have shown the effects of various types of gate openings and empirical

equations to calculate the length of a hydraulic jump.

 Apparatus

 Glass Sided Tilting Flume (S6-MkII)

Figure 1: Glass-sided flume (Armfield, 2015)

 Adjustable undershot weir

Figure 2: Adjustable undershot weir (Armfield, C4-MKII Multi-Purpose Teaching

Flume)

 Hook and Point gauges and/or ruler

 Methodology

The glass sided tilting flume was made horizontal with the downstream tiling weir placed on

the bottom. The undershot weir was positions 20mm higher than the channel bed with the

latter’s width (b) recorded in m.

The flow control valve was turned on slowly to ensure the flow just starts rising upstream of

the weir. The downstream flow level was also adjusted until a hydraulic jump formed. This

flow pattern was then recorded.

The upstream depth (y1), downstream depth (y2), depth just before the weir and flow (Q)

were measured and recorded for 10 flow rates.

Results

Table 1: Experimental results

Upstream Depth before Depth after Distance

Experiment Flow rate (Q)
depth (y0) jump(y1) jump (y3) from gate to
number L/s
m m m jump(m)

1 9.500 0.24 0.022 0.097 1.000

2 9.143 0.23 0.020 0.092 0.600

3 9.015 0.22 0.019 0.095 0.420

4 8.732 0.213 0.025 0.095 0.060

5 8.458 0.195 0.022 0.087 0.830

6 8.022 0.180 0.020 0.085 0.320

7 7.840 0.170 0.023 0.087 0.850

8 7.584 0.160 0.021 0.078 0.550

9 7.330 0.151 0.020 0.076 0.205

10 6.636 0.128 0.022 0.065 0.400

 Analysis
2
V
The total energy of a flow in a channel is given by; H=z + y + . When the datum used is
2g

the bed of a channel, the resulting expression is the specific energy for that flow indicated by
2
V
E. E= y + . Where y is the flow depth, V is the velocity of flow and g is the gravitational
2g

acceleration. At a certain flow depth (yc), the specific energy is minimum and the Froude

V
Fr=
number (Fr)
√ g
A . Where A if the flow area and T is the maximum width of the channel.
T

This depth is called the critical depth.

In an open channel flow points where critical depth occurs coincide with changes from sub-

critical to super-critical flow. When the channel slope changes from mild to steep, in the

upstream section the flow is subcritical at normal depth while downstream it is supercritical

at a lower normal depth. These flows occur on either ends of a region of varied flow with a

point where the depth is critical.

When the slopes are reversed such that a steep slope discharges onto a mild one, upstream

and downstream from the point of slope reversal will have normal depths. In the region of

occurrence of critical depth, a hydraulic jump occurs to dissipate the higher energy from the

supercritical flow.

Calculation of critical depths

yc=
√
3 q2
g

Table 2: Critical depths

Experiment number Flow (l/s) Flow(m^3/s) Yc (m)

1 9.500 0.0095 0.020953636

 2 9.143 0.009143 0.020425349

3 9.015 0.009015 0.020234267

4 8.732 0.008732 0.019808556

5 8.458 0.008458 0.019391978

6 8.022 0.008022 0.018719695

7 7.840 0.00784 0.018435477

8 7.584 0.007584 0.018031944

9 7.330 0.00733 0.01762705

10 6.636 0.006636 0.016496099

Comparison between y1, yc and y2

Table 3: Comparison between depths before and after the hydraulic jump

Experiment number Y1 yc Y2

1 0.022 0.020953636 0.097

2 0.020 0.020425349 0.092

3 0.019 0.020234267 0.095

4 0.025 0.019808556 0.095

5 0.022 0.019391978 0.087

6 0.020 0.018719695 0.085

7 0.023 0.018435477 0.087

8 0.021 0.018031944 0.078

9 0.020 0.01762705 0.076

10 0.022 0.016496099 0.065

How distance from gate to start of jump varies for constant discharge rates
In a constant discharge scenario, the distance from the gate to start of the jump is varied to

the following results; there appears to be no appreciable difference in the nature of the jump

provided the flow is kept contsant. This is in spite of varying the distance to the gate. What it

suggests is that a hydraulic jump is not affected by conditions upstream, rather by the result

of some difference in the flow conditions between upstream and downstream.

Specific energy curves

Table 4: Specific energy calculation

Experiment
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
number

0.009 0.00901 0.00873 0.00845 0.00802 0.00758 0.00663

Flow 0.0095 0.00784 0.00733
143 5 2 8 2 4 6

Upstream
0.24 0.23 0.22 0.213 0.195 0.18 0.17 0.16 0.151 0.128
depth

Area 0.072 0.069 0.066 0.0639 0.0585 0.054 0.051 0.048 0.0453 0.0384

0.132
Flow 0.1319 0.13659 0.13665 0.14458 0.14855 0.15372 0.16181 0.17281
5072 0.158
velocity 44444 0909 1017 1197 5556 549 0155 25
46

0.230
Specific 0.2408 0.22095 0.21395 0.19606 0.18112 0.17120 0.16127 0.15233 0.12952
8949
energy 87326 0921 1758 5429 4809 4461 2375 4481 2128
12

Depth
0.022 0.02 0.019 0.025 0.022 0.02 0.023 0.021 0.02 0.022
before jump

1.523
1.4393 1.58157 1.16426 1.28151 1.13623 1.20380 1.22166 1.00545
Velocity 8333 1.337
93939 8947 6667 5152 1884 9524 6667 4545
33

0.138
Specific 0.1275 0.14649 0.09408 0.10570 0.11110 0.08880 0.09486 0.09606 0.07352
3520
energy 99129 1945 8526 4439 9531 1371 1232 8779 5935
91

Critical 0.0209 0.020 0.02023 0.01980 0.01939 0.01871 0.01843 0.01803 0.01762 0.01649

depth 53636 4253

 49 4267 8556 1978 9695 5477 1944 705 6099

1.492
1.5112 1.48510 1.46939 1.45386 1.42844 1.41755 1.40195 1.38612 1.34092
Velocity 1001
73111 4452 8712 5786 2077 6667 6439 7193 3087
68

0.133
Specific 0.1373 0.13264 0.12985 0.12712 0.12271 0.12085 0.11820 0.11555 0.10814
8995
energy 6273 6868 6088 5195 8001 4789 9409 5113 109
03

Depth after
0.097 0.092 0.095 0.095 0.087 0.085 0.087 0.078 0.076 0.065
jump

0.331
0.3264 0.31631 0.30638 0.32406 0.31458 0.30038 0.32410 0.32149 0.34030
Velocity 2681
60481 5789 5965 1303 8235 3142 2564 1228 7692
16

0.097
Specific 0.1024 0.10009 0.09978 0.09235 0.09004 0.09159 0.08335 0.08126 0.07090
5931
energy 32031 9678 4524 2484 4126 888 3847 7921 2616
99

SPECIFIC ENERGY CURVES

0.16
0.14 1
0.12 2
3
0.1 4
5
Depth

0.08
6
0.06 7
8
0.04
9
0.02 10
0
0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18
Specific energy

Figure 3: Specific energy curves

From the curves, as the flow increases, the specific energy curve moves right because

specific energy increases as the flow increases.

Change in specific energy

Table 5: Specific energy comparison

Flow E before jump E after jump Change

0.0095 0.127599129 0.102432031 0.025167098

0.009143 0.138352091 0.097593199 0.040758892

0.009015 0.019 0.100099678 0.081099678

0.008732 0.094088526 0.099784524 0.005695998

0.008458 0.105704439 0.092352484 0.013351955

0.008022 0.111109531 0.090044126 0.021065405

0.00784 0.088801371 0.09159888 0.00279751

0.007584 0.094861232 0.083353847 0.011507385

0.00733 0.096068779 0.081267921 0.014800858

0.006636 0.073525935 0.070902616 0.002623319

From the results, a higher flow causes a greater change in specific energy after the

hydraulic jump.

Classification of hydraulic jumps

V
Fr= Where V is the flow velocity, g is the gravitational acceleration and y is the flow
√ gy
depth.

Table 6: Froude number classification

Experiment Froude number before Froude number after

Flow Classification
number jump jump

1 0.0095 3.0983739 0.334664962 Oscillating

2 0.009143 3.440233875 0.348699416 Oscillating

3 0.009015 0 0.327660858 Weak

4 0.008732 2.350974701 0.317374888 Weak

5 0.008458 2.758531205 0.350778562 Oscillating

 6 0.008022 3.01843554 0.344507365 Oscillating

7 0.00784 2.39204062 0.325148253 Weak

8 0.007584 2.652244905 0.370510621 Oscillating

9 0.00733 2.758056907 0.372329826 Oscillating

10 0.006636 2.164295706 0.426167752 Weak

When the Froude number is greater before the jump, this relates to a higher specific energy.

When the jump occurs, to transform the flow to subcritical, the energy dissipated is thereby

greater.

Momentum before and after hydraulic jumps

2 2
d Q
Momentum equation: M = +
2 g∗d

Table 7: Momentum comparison

Flow Momentum before

Flow Momentum after jump
number jump

1 0.0095 0.000660173 0.004799343

2 0.009143 0.000626068 0.004324623

3 0.009015 0.000616522 0.004599704

4 0.008732 0.000623398 0.004594315

5 0.008458 0.00057347 0.00386832

6 0.008022 0.000527994 0.003689675

7 0.00784 0.000536918 0.003856518

8 0.007584 0.000499695 0.003117168

9 0.00733 0.000473848 0.002960065

10 0.006636 0.000446043 0.002181561

 Discussion

The upstream depth was varied depending on the flow rate throughout the experiment. For a
hydraulic jump to occur, there has to be a change in the flow condition. The flows before the
jump were found to have supercritical according to the Froude numbers. These were found
to be above 1. As they pass under the undershot weir, various flow properties change such
as velocity, flow depth and hence Froude number. Most of the jumps in the various
experiments were found to be oscillating jumps.

Results of momentum before and after the jumps

The momemtum function dictates that M 1−M 2=0for flow through the transition. This is
provided that there exists no external forces apart from hydrostatic pressure forces acting on
the fluid. Momentums before and after the jumps were seen to differ and this is not the case
in a theoritical study. The equation used is obtained from Newton’s second law. This
disrepancy can be attributed to slight errors during measurements of depths and flow and
exertion of external forces during measurement.

The hydraulic jump facilitates a decrease in the specific energy . This is the energy
dissipation that occurs during a jump. The two depths before and after the jump are the
conjugate depths. The blockage by the weir produces a subcritical flow downstream,
allowing the fluid to travel at a higher velocity. As the channel dimensions remain constant
throughout the experiment, and to maintain the flow rate, the fluid depth increases after the
jump.

On comparing the impact of flow rates, the specific energy attained is greater at higher flows.
This corresponds to a higher Froude number which is supercritical flow. To attain a
subcritical flow, more energy is needed to dissipated to reduce the flow number to less than
one. The results prove this greater energy dissipation.

Where loss of energy in hydraulic jumps is desirable

A control structure is designed to vary the depth of water past the critical depth with the
intention of fixing a specific discharge to a certain depth. These control structures, such as
weirs and sluice gates, force a hydraulic jump to occur. The loss of energy is useful
downstream of a dam to reduce erosion of the river bed. In irrigation channels, forcing a
hydraulic jump to occur increases the water level downstream, enabling greater water force.
In water treatment plants, a hydraulic jump is induced to enable water aeration. This also
allows the mixing of treatment chemicals.
How Froude’s number relates to differences in conjugate depths

It has been observed that the depths before the jumps are always lower than those after the
jump. For a constant discharge depth, the flow upstream is supercritical (Froude number
greater than 1) and that downstream is subcritical (Froude number less than 1). The specific
energy in the initial depth is greater than that in the downstream depth by an amount
comparable to the change in energy/ Energy loss. The greater the differences in depths, the
greater the differences in Froude number and subsequently the greater the energy loss.
 Conclusion
Use of hydraulic jumps

 Hydraulic jumps causes a reversal in the flow of water and this can be useful in

mixing of chemicals for purification of water.

 The loss in energy is useful in dams as this prevents the scouring of the downstream

section of a dam structure. Spillways increase the slope of flow, hence the velocity

and the specific energy. When the jump occurs, a large amount of energy is

dissipated downstream which increases the depth of water and reduces its velocity.

The experiment showed the occurrence of a hydraulic jump and the changes in specific

energy that occur due to this phenomenon. It was seen that a lower specific energy is

related to greater water depth. Most of the jumps that occurred in the various flow rates were

classified as oscillating. However, the momentum equation was not proven as the

momentums before and after jumps differed by a small amount.

References

1. Armfield. (2015). Hydrolics and Hydrology S-Series. Standard teaching and research
flume – S6-MKIII.

2. Armfield. (n.d.). C4-MKII Multi-Purpose Teaching Flume. Retrieved 2020, from

Armfield: https://armfield.co.uk/product/c4-mkii-multi-purpose-teaching-flume/

3. Gyewoon, K., Choi, H, P., & S, B. (2015). Hydraulic jump and energy dissipation with
a sluice gate. Water, 5115-5135.