Mixed Convection Effect on Melting from a Vertical Plate in a Porous Medium

In the present work, the effect of mixed convection about vertical surfaces on the phenomenon of melting process in a fluid-saturated porous medium is analyzed on the basis of boundary layer approximations. Similarity solutions are obtained for aiding external flow. The final similarity equations are integrated numerically by use of the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. Results are reported for the flow and thermal fields in the melt region. The melting phenomenon decreases the local Nusselt number at the solid–liquid interface.