Application of folded sheet metal in flat bed solar air collectors

In the present study the chevron pattern of fold structure produced using a recently developed continuous folding technique is considered for the first time in the application of solar air collectors. An experimental study of two types of flat bed solar air collectors, with flat plate and chevron pattern absorbers, is carried out to investigate their performance over a wide range of operating conditions. A theoretical comparison between flat plate, v-grooved and chevron pattern absorbers is also presented. Under the considered configurations and operating conditions, the chevron pattern absorber is found to be the most efficient and that the flat plate absorber the least efficient. The chevron pattern is found to have higher performance, reaching up to 20% improvement in thermal efficiency and an increase of 10 °C in outlet temperature at some ranges of mass flow rates.