I'm doing a high school experiment on how the impulse of water hammer is affected by pipe diameter, and I'm unsure of how to set up my experiment.
My primary concern is safety and validity:
- Is it better to use an electric pump on a horizontal plane or a gravity-powered reservoir in a horizontal L-shaped bend, with both horizontal sections being a metre or so?
- Since I am changing pipe diameter will pipe adapters have a significant effect on the system or should I have all the pipes, inlets, and outlets be the same diameter?
- Should I have bends in the downstream of my pipe which feeds into a straight horizontal section at the upstream?