Segment V10.6: Hydraulic Jump in a Sink

(Related to Textbook Section 10.6.1 - The Hydraulic Jump)

The hydraulic jump is a step-like increase in water depth across which a supercritical flow can change into a subcritical flow.

It is possible to generate a hydraulic jump of circular shape on a plate held under the faucet in the sink. The location and size of the hydraulic jump depend on the flowrate and distance from the faucet to the plate. Near the center of the plate the thin, highspeed flow is supercritical. The lip on the plate edge forces the flow to be relatively deep and low-speed (subcritical) at the edge. The hydraulic jump provides the adjustment between these subcritical and supercritical flows.