Edward J.

Hickin: River Hydraulics and Channel Form

Chapter 3

The momentum equation for open-channel flow

The momentum equation and the hydraulic jump

Hydraulic jumps Deriving the momentum equation Application of the momentum equation to the hydraulic jump

Energy loss in hydraulic jumps Some concluding remarks References

We have seen that the energy equation has many useful applications to a wide variety of flow transition problems. In all cases, however, the solutions depend on the assumption that energy is conserved. If energy actually leaks from the system via frictional head loss the Bernoulli equation will overstate the energy available to the flow and the related predictions of velocity and depth will proportionately be in error. To recall our earlier strategy, we minimize this error by considering only short reaches of channel and only gradual transitions. In certain flow phenomena, however, we simply can no longer ignore the energy losses and we must look to alternative ways of describing the flow.

The momentum approach and the hydraulic jump

Hydraulic jumps

One of these cases is the hydraulic jump. Hydraulic jumps mark the flow transition from supercritical to subcritical flow. When subcritical flow accelerates into the supercritical state the transition often is smooth with gradually increasing velocity and decreasing depth bringing about a smooth drop in the water surface until the alternate depth is achieved. Any disturbance to the water surface is smoothed out by the surface or gravity wave propagation mechanism discussed earlier. In these circumstances energy losses are not great and the Bernoulli equation does a

Chapter 3: The momentum equation for open-channel flow

credible job of describing the changes to the flow.

When supercritical flow changes to

subcritical flow, however, there is no smoothing of the water surface upstream of the transition because the high downstream velocity prevents upstream diffusion of the water-surface deformation. As a result the transition to subcritical flow is sudden and marked by an abrupt discontinuity, or hydraulic jump, in the water
Hydraulic jump with breaking surge
Accelerating flow Supercritical flow F>1.0

An undular hydraulic jump

Subcritical Flow F<1.0

F>1.0

Subcritical Flow F<1.0

3.1: Undular and breaking hydraulic jumps in open-channel flow

surface (Figure 3.1). The greater the difference between the alternate depths the more severe the hydraulic jump. Hydraulic jumps appear in the surface of rivers as standing waves or surges. In their most fully developed state they appear as a line of breaking waves normal to the river bank which remains stationary with respect to an observer on the bank. Upstream of the jump the flow is supercritical and downstream it is subcritical. Hydraulic jumps may occur as a single event in a reach of channel or they may occur in trains as flowalternates back and forth across the two flow states. They may be steady-state features or they may be intermittent or even periodic, forming and collapsing, and reestablishing again, in response to the highly unsteady non-uniform flow. As we might expect, hydraulic jumps are more likely to be found disrupting flows in steep mountain streams rather than those in large low-slope rivers although even the latter may exhibit this flow phenomenon at high flood discharges. Because the flow at the hydraulic jump often is surging and highly agitated, there is a great deal of energy lost here, precisely the circumstance we must avoid if the Bernoulli equation is the only analytical tool at our disposal.

3.2

Chapter 3: The momentum equation for open-channel flow

Deriving the momentum equation

An alternative to the energy conservation approach is one based on the momentum principle (also known as the momentum-impulse principle). The principle is derived from Newton's second law of motion; if we multiply equation (1.7) by time t we obtain Ft = mat ............................................................ (3.1) Since a = v2 - v1 (from equation (1.1)), t Ft = m(v2 - v1)................................................. (3.2a) We have in effect integrated both sides of equation (3.1) with respect to time so that in general, t2 t2 F dt = m a dt = m(v2 - v1) ..................................(3.2b) t1 t1 In words, the momentum equation states that the change in momentum per unit time in any body is equal to the resultant of all the external forces acting on the body in unit time; the product Ft is known as the impulse of the force. Equation (3.2) can be applied to open-channel flow by reference to the control volume of channel flow in the definitional diagram in Figure 3.2; we assume that the channel has a rectangular cross-section. Rearranging equation (3.2) we can say that: m(v2 - v1) ..................................................................... (3.3) t

F =

For the control volume, Vo, we note that m = rVo and that equation (3.3) can be written: F=

Vo ( v 2 v1 ) ........................................................(3.4) t

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Chapter 3: The momentum equation for open-channel flow

water surface L

Since Vo/t = Q, we can also state that F = Q(v2 - v1) =

p1 V1

Wsin
y V 2 p2

Q(v2 - v1)......................... (3.5) g

The net force F is the resultant of three types of force acting on the fluid body:

W=Vo 0 z1 z2
Horizontal datum

the force resulting from the pressure difference at sections 1 and 2: p1A1 - p2A2;
(a) (b)

the force exerted by the downstream component of

the weight of the fluid body: Vosin; and

(c)

3.2: Definitional diagram for the momentum equation.

the force to of friction and resistance acting over the

boundary area, Ab: - toAb.

Substituting these components for the net force in equation (3.5) yields: p1A1 - p2A2 + Vosin - oAb =

Q(v2 - v1).................................. (3.6) g

Equation (3.6) is the general form of the momentum equation for open channel flow. The twodimensional form of the momentum equation is obtained by dividing equation (3.6) throughout by the channel width: p1y1 - p2y2 +

Vo sin o Ab = q(v2 - v1)............................... (3.7) w g

Application of the momentum equation to the hydraulic jump

Equation (3.7) can be further adapted to describe the particular conditions at the hydraulic jump (see Figure 3.3). If we assume that the force of the downslope weight component of the flow (Vosin) is exactly balanced by the force of frictional resistance (oAb), and assume further that y y the pressure terms simply are hydrostatic (the average at depth 2 , p = ), equation (3.7) 2 reduces to:

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Chapter 3: The momentum equation for open-channel flow

y12 y 2 2 = q(v2 - v1) g 2 2

or

y12 y22 q g (v2 - v1) = 2 - 2 .................................... (3.8) q Substituting y = v in the left-hand side of equation

(3.8) C
surge V2 /2 g
2

and factoring the right-hand side, yields:

H1

V1 /2g

q q - q = 1 (y1 + y2) (y1 - y2) . 2 g y2 y1

H2

y2 y1 V1

V2

Rearranging this expression gives 1 1 - q2 y2 y1 1 g y1 - y2 = 2 (y1 + y2) ........................... (3.9)

3.3: Flow characteristics at a hydraulic jump.

1 1 Noting that y1y2 y2 - y2 = y1 - y2, and that v12y12 v12y1 1 gy1y2 = gy2 = 2 (y1 + y2)
1 y2 = 2 y (y2 + y1) 1

q = v1y1, it follows that

y2 v12 Multiplying throughout by y yields g 1 v12 1 = 2 g

and

y22 y1y2 y1 + y1 v12 g

2 1 y2 = 2 + y 2 y1 y22 y2 1 = 2 y1 y12 + y1

Taking y1 outside the right-hand bracket yields

v12 1 y2 y2 .................................... (3.10) and further rearranging gives gy = 2 y + 1 1 1 y1 Equation (3.10) can be cast into several different forms, including two expressions which appropriately relate the geometry of the simple hydraulic jump to the Froude number:
v12 = gy1

F12 =

1 y 2 y2 + 1 ..................................................... (3.11) 2 y1 y 1

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Chapter 3: The momentum equation for open-channel flow

v1 = F1 = gy1

1 y2 y2 + 1 .................................................... (3.12) 2 y1 y1

Equation (3.12) has proved to be an acceptable description of the simple hydraulic jump and is widely used in solving a variety of practical problems (see Sample Problems 3.1 and 3.2). It usefully illustrates that the severity of the hydraulic jump, summarized by y2/y1, is a function of the state of the flow specified by the Froude number. With a little more algebraic gymnastics we can cast equation (3.12) into a form that isolates y2/y1 as a function of the Froude number only:
1 2

From equation (3.11) we have F12 =

y2 y2 + 1 or F 2 = 1 y1 y1

1 2

y2 2 + y2 y1 y1

and

y2 y2 2F12 = y1 2 + y1 .................................................... (3.13)

In order to extract simple roots we multiply both sides of equation (3.13) by 4 and add 1 to both sides, thus: y2 2 + 4 y2 + 1 8F12 + 1 = 4 y y
1
1

Taking roots,

y2 8F12 + 1 = 2 y + 1
1

so that

y2 y1 =

1 2

8F12 + 1 - 1

................................... (3.14)

y13 v12 2 We might note also that continuity gives the equality gy = F12 = y22 F2 and substituting 1

Sample Problem 3.1 Problem: Water flows along a 10-m wide rectangular channel and through a hydraulic jump. If the flow depth just before the jump is 2.0 m, and 3.0 m after it, what is the discharge through the channel? Solution: From equation (3.12) we get v 12 1 3.0 3.0 9.806y1 = 2 x 2.0 2.0 +1

so that v12 = 36.7725 and v1 = 6.064 ms-1. Thus discharge, Q = wv1y1 = 10 x 6.064 x 2.0 = 121.3 m3s-1.

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Chapter 3: The momentum equation for open-channel flow

Sample Problem 3.2

Problem: A sluice gate at the base of a large reservoir is raised 1.7 m, as shown opposite, and the water discharges through this 5.0 m-wide rectangular orifice into a rectangular channel of the same width. If a hydraulic jump forms in the channel, what will be its height?

sluice gate reservoir 3.0 m

hydraulic jump 1.7 m ?

Solution: Since the reservoir is large, we can assume that the water depth will not change rapidly and that the depth of water in the tank represents the total head E1 = 3.0 m. Thus we can write the Bernoulli equation for this case as E1 = y2 + v22/2g v 22 or 3.0 = 1.7 + 2 x 9.806 .

Therefore, v2 = 1.3 x 19.612 = 5.049 ms-1 5.049 The flow discharging from under the sluice gate is supercritical since F = = 1.237 9.806 x 1.70 If a hydraulic jump forms in the channel its geometry is specified by equation (3.56) as y2 1 y1 = 2

(8 x 1.2372) + 1 - 1

= 1.319

Since y1 = 1.70 m, y2 = 2.242 m so that the hydraulic jump must be 0.542 m high.

for F12 in equation (3.11) leads to: v22 1 y1 y1 + 1 ............................................ (3.15) 2= = F 2 2 y2 y2 gy2 Furthermore, from equation (3.15) it can be shown readily that : y1 y2 =
1 2

8F22 + 1 - 1

) ............................................... (3.16)

a sort of mirror image of equation (3.14). Obviously equation (3.16) will be very useful when only the subcritical flow conditions downstream of the hydraulic jump are known.

Energy loss in hydraulic jumps To obtain the energy loss across a hydraulic jump in a rectangular channel, we have to compute E1-E2 when M1 = M2. It will be found that unless F12 and y2/y1 are quite large, the difference E1E2 is substantially smaller than either E1 or E2, making it difficult to calculate the difference with reasonable accuracy.
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Chapter 3: The momentum equation for open-channel flow

This is a common problem in computing work; the obvious but clumsy remedy is to calculate E1 and E2 to a higher degree of precision than is required for the difference E1-E2. A much better way out of this difficulty, one suggested by the influential river engineer Professor Frank Henderson (1966), is outlined below. He recommended rearranging the algebra so that E1-E2 is expressed in a form involving products rather than differences.
v 12 2g v 22 2g q2 1 1 2 2 2g y1 y2

We have

E1-E2 = (y1 +

) - (y2 +

) = (y1 - y2) +

In order to express (E1-E2) as a product, it will be useful to factorize the expression as far as possible. So, making the substitution F12 =
q2 gy13

, we take out the factor (y1 - y2) leading to

F 2 y1(y1 + y2 ) ...................................... (3.17) y 22

E1- E2 = (y1 - y2) 1 1 2

Now we impose the condition M1 = M2 by using the hydraulic jump equation: F1 2 =

1 y 2 y2 + 1 . 2 y1 y1

Setting r =

y2 and simplifying the expression within the bracket yields: y1 r(r + 1) (r + 1) ................................................................(3.18) 4 r2

E1- E2 = (y1 - y2) 1 or

E1 E 2 (r + 1)2 = (1 r)1 y1 4r

and finally,

E1 E 2 (r 1)3 = ...................................................................................(3.19) y1 4r

Thus the energy loss at a hydraulic jump becomes a simple function of the relative flow depths in question (see Sample Problem 3.3). Of course this resulting increased ease of computation offered by the Henderson method does not obviate the user from the task of assessing the significance of the result in the light of the precision of the primary measurements.

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Chapter 3: The momentum equation for open-channel flow

Sample Problem 3.3 For example, in a hydraulic jump where y1 = 1.000 and y2 = 1.100 (r = E1- E2 = (1.000)

y2 = 1.100), equation (3.19) yields: y1

(1.100 1)3 = 0.00023 m. 4(1.100)

In other words, energy loss through this mild hydraulic jump amounts to about two fifths of one millimetre of head.

In the case of severe hydraulic jumps, energy losses may be very large indeed (see Sample Problem 3.4).
Sample Problem 3.4 In a hydraulic jump where y1 = 1.000 and y2 = 2.000 (r = E1- E2 = (1.000)

y2 = 2.0), equation (3.61) yields: y1

(2.000 1.000)3 = 0.125 m. 4(2.00)

Equation (3.14) yields F1=1.73 for these flow conditions, associated with a head loss amounting to 12.5% of the energy of the approach flow. As we noted earlier, hydraulic jumps can be very efficient dissipaters of flow energy and are sometimes designed by engineers to form in outlet flows where the approach flow might otherwise cause damaging scour to the channel bed.

Some concluding remarks The momentum equation is conveniently brought to bear on problems such as the task of describing the hydraulic jump where the flow is far less than perfectly energy conservative as the component DH in Figure 3.3 indicates. Indeed, all real flows in nature dissipate energy in overcoming frictional resistance and our discussion of flow has reached a point where it is no longer useful to ignore these energy losses. Ways of incorporating these sources of resistance into our thinking about river flows is the subject of the next chapter.

References Henderson, F.M., 1966, Open Channel Flow, Macmillan, New York.

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