A Study on the Effect of Wire-Net Stainless Steel Porosity on Heat Transfer Enhancement in a Solar Air Heater

Wire-net stainless steel (WS) is an alternative material used to enhance heat transfer in solar air heater (SAH) by inducing swirling or rotating airflow as air passes through its pores. In this study, WS with varying porosity—corresponding to pore per inch (PPI) of 16, 20, and 25—and a constant pitch distance ( P ) of 0.06 m was installed within the flow channel of the SAH, and air was used as the working fluid under turbulent flow. The results showed that WS significantly improved heat transfer performance, though accompanied by increased pressure drop. An increase in PPI resulted in a maximum of Nusselt number and friction factor by factors of 13.81 and 238.61, respectively, compared to SAH without WS. The highest thermal enhancement factor of 2.48 was observed at PPI=20.