Water Flow Slowing in a Hydraulic Jump

Hydraulic jumps show how fast open-channel water can suddenly slow down and rise. When water moves at high velocity along an open channel, the flow can become unstable. Small disturbances can make the upper surface jump to a higher level.

This abrupt rise is called a hydraulic jump. As the water ...

A hydraulic jump is a phenomenon that occurs in fast-moving open flows when the flow becomes unstable. When a jump occurs, the height of the liquid surface increases abruptly resulting in an increased depth and decreased average flow velocity downstream. An important side effect of this phenomenon is that much of the kinetic energy in the upstre...