Hydraulic jumps in open channels: Experimental, computational, and AI-based insights for sustainable energy dissipation, sediment control, and eco-hydraulic design

Hydraulic jumps are fundamental flow transitions widely used in water infrastructure to dissipate excess kinetic energy, regulate sediment transport, and stabilize downstream hydraulic and ecological conditions. In the context of increasing hydrological extremes, climate variability, and the growing demand for environmentally responsible infrastructure, understanding the sustainable performance of hydraulic jumps has become critically important. This review synthesizes experimental, computational, and data-driven investigations of hydraulic jumps formed in open channels, with particular emphasis on energy dissipation efficiency, sediment stability, and eco-hydraulic functionality. Key hydraulic indicators including sequent depth ratio, jump length, energy loss, and Froude number are critically assessed for classical and modified configurations such as sloping channels, rough and stepped beds, porous and multi-layer screen systems, and negative-step geometries. Experimental findings indicate that structural modifications, including multi-layer porous screens and geometry-induced roughness, can enhance energy dissipation by up to 40–50% while significantly reducing jump length, thereby enabling more compact and material-efficient designs. Advances in computational fluid dynamics and artificial intelligence, particularly hybrid frameworks combining physics-based solvers with machine learning and physics-informed neural networks, are reviewed for their capability to predict hydraulic jump behavior under complex and data-limited conditions. Beyond hydraulic performance, the review evaluates eco-hydraulic implications, including aeration efficiency, sediment control, scour mitigation, and habitat stability, highlighting the role of hydraulic jumps in sustainable river and spillway management. Finally, critical research gaps are identified, notably the limited understanding of multi-layer screen flow interactions, scale effects, and long-term environmental performance. The review provides a unified sustainability-oriented perspective and outlines future research directions to support the development of resilient, energy-efficient, and environmentally compatible water infrastructure systems.