In high dam construction projects in China, stilling basin design with an abrupt bottom drop is sometimes introduced to reduce the bottom velocity and pressure loads by generating A-type hydraulic jumps. Although the stilling basin design is not new, A-type hydraulic jumps have not been studied taking into account the air entrainment and evolution of internal air–water flow structures. This paper presents an experimental study of self-aerated A-type jumps in terms of bubble transport and free-surface fluctuations over the bottom drop. Four Froude numbers from 4.1 to 10.3 are tested for three drop heights, in addition to the flat-bottom case. Compared to the classic hydraulic jumps, A-jumps are observed with longer jump lengths and weaker free-surface fluctuations. The downward deflection of the jet-shear flow and formation of a bottom roller in the step cavity require a modification to the analytical expression of velocity and void fraction distributions. The relationship between the bubble diffusivity and jump spreading rate differs from that in classic hydraulic jumps, suggesting a faster expansion of the bubble diffusion layer than the turbulent shear flow downstream of the drop, especially for large drop heights. At large approach velocities, the reattachment of the deflected jet-shear flow to the lowered bed may cause a local rise in bubble counts downstream the bottom roller. Further increase in drop height results in a W-jump with overwhelming bottom roller over the surface roller and an arced surface jet, which is beyond the scope of this study.

Hydraulic jumps are commonly employed as energy dissipators to guarantee long-term operation of hydraulic structures. Thus, a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of its main features is fundamental. In this context, the current study focused on a hydraulic jump with a low Froude number (Fr₁ = 2.4) and a relatively high Reynolds number (Re = 1.83×10⁵). Experimental tests employed dual-tip phase-detection probes to provide a comprehensive characterisation of the main air-water flow properties of the hydraulic jump in terms of void fraction, bubble count rate and interfacial velocities. Importantly, this research focused on the air-water flow property distribution across the channel width, revealing lower values of void fraction and bubble count rate next to the sidewall as compared to the channel centreline. Such a spatial variability in the transverse direction questions whether data near the walls may be representative of the flow behaviour in the centreline, raising the issue of sidewall effects in image-based techniques. These findings provide helpful information to both researchers and practitioners for a better understanding of the physical process, leading to an optimised design of hydraulic structures.