Just for Fun: Recreational Hydraulics
Free webinar
Have you ever been on a waterslide with an integrated Archimedean spiral? If you’re not sure, check out our free webinar on recreational hydraulics in which we cover the underlying principles feeding into the hydraulic designs for Olympic whitewater courses, standing surf waves and adventure park thrill rides.
Studying a hydraulic jump in a fluid dynamics textbook might not sound like all that much fun, but here is your chance to meet some engineers who have applied hydraulic concepts to their passions for whitewater kayaking, surfing, waterslides, and more!
Knowing what they say about “all work and no play”, this webinar mixes things up with some applications that are “just for fun”. View the webinar recording on the Australian Water School’s YouTube channel here:
Additional details on the presenters and links to pdf versions of the presentations are available on the Australian Water School website here:
Upcoming webinar
- Our “just for fun” webinar highlighted the benefits of physical modelling for whitewater park designs. Learn more about physical modelling hydraulics in the upcoming Australian Water School webinar “Let’s get physical!”
Whitewater Resources
- Read this blog article highlighting the application of the hydraulic jump and Froude Number in whitewater rafting by Alden Labs’ Orli Gottlieb
- Check out this demonstration of physical modelling for artificial whitewater course design:
- This video shows the calibration of numerical and physical modelling results for the Rio Olympic whitewater course:
- Catch a glimpse of Boise’s whitewater park
Surf Park and Wave Pool Resources
- Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch:
- The Science behind Kelly Slater’s surf wave:
- Research and development history for Kelly Slater’s surf wave:
- Kelly Slater’s Wave Co. Website:
- Melbourne’s URBNSURF:
- See what happens when waves concentrate in a single point:
Water Slide Resources
- Rotating water slide (with an integrated Archimedian spiral!)
- The Physics of water slides (National Geographic article)
- Building an endless water slide (Power and Motion article)
- Production of the Endless Water Slide that we covered during the webinar (view complete episode on Discovery+)
Additional Resources
Check out this response to a TikTok challenge for water modellers. Here’s the challenge winner:
Additional Webinars
Here is a preview of the AWS courses and webinars covering relevant first principles, including a free webinar on the Froude Number, which got a lot of attention in our “Just for Fun” presentations:
Learn the underlying principles of open channel flow in our upcoming Hydrology and Hydraulics Essentials course, which is available for registration on the Australian Water School website here:
Send us your suggestions for other fun applications of hydraulic modelling and design and we’ll post them here!