Editing Water wheel (section)

=== Breastshot wheel ===
[[File:Breastshot waterwheel simple.svg|thumb|150px|Breastshot waterwheel showing headrace, tailrace, and water]]

The word '''breastshot''' is used in a variety of ways. Some authors restrict the term to wheels where the water enters at about the 10 o’clock position, others 9 o’clock, and others for a range of heights.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Müller |first1=G. |last2=Wolter |first2=C. |date=2004 |title=The breastshot waterwheel: design and model tests |url=https://hmf.enseeiht.fr/travaux/CD0708/beiere/3/html/bi/3/fichiers/Muller_exp.pdf |journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability |language=en |volume=157 |issue=4 |pages=203–211 |doi=10.1680/ensu.2004.157.4.203 |issn=1478-4629 |via=Semantic Scholar |archive-date=2021-02-11 |access-date=2022-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211215637/http://hmf.enseeiht.fr/travaux/CD0708/beiere/3/html/bi/3/fichiers/Muller_exp.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In this article it is used for wheels where the water entry is significantly above the bottom and significantly below the top, typically the middle half.

They are characterized by:
* buckets carefully shaped to minimize turbulence as water enters
* buckets ventilated with holes in the side to allow air to escape as the water enters
* a masonry "apron" closely conforming to the wheel face, which helps contain the water in the buckets as they progress downwards

Both [[kinetic energy|kinetic]] (movement) and [[potential energy|potential]] (height and weight) energy are utilised.

The small clearance between the wheel and the masonry requires that a breastshot wheel has a good [[trash rack]] ('screen' in British English) to prevent debris from jamming between the wheel and the apron and potentially causing serious damage.

Breastshot wheels are less efficient than overshot and backshot wheels but they can handle high flow rates and consequently high power. They are preferred for steady, high-volume flows such as are found on the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line|Fall Line]] of the North American East Coast. Breastshot wheels are the most common type in the United States of America{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} and are said to have powered the industrial revolution.<ref name="ASMEnoria"/>