Numerical simulations of two-layer flow past topography. Part I: The leeside hydraulic jump

From the point of view of the shallow-water equations (SWE), the hydraulic jump is a discontinuity in fluid-layer depth and velocity at which kinetic energy is dissipated. To provide a deeper understanding of the leeside hydraulic jump, three-dimensional numerical solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations (NSE) are carried out alongside SWE solutions for nearly identical physical initial-value problems.

Starting from a constant-height layer flowing over a two-dimensional obstacle at constant speed, it is demonstrated that the SWE solutions form a leeside discontinuity owing to the collision of upstream-moving characteristic curves launched from the obstacle. Consistent with the SWE solution, the NSE solution indicates the leeside hydraulic jump begins as a steepening of the initially horizontal density interface. Subsequently, the NSE solution indicates overturning of the density interface and a transition to turbulence.