The effect of inertia on vertical free convection boundary layer flow from a heated surface in porous media with suction

A boundary layer analysis is performed for convection from a uniform temperature vertical heated surface in the presence of inertia and surface suction. The resulting boundary layer flow is non-similar and detailed solutions are presented. At relatively small distances from the leading edge surface suction is negligible and at large distances from the leading edge suction effects dominate for there the boundary layer attains a constant thickness. At any fixed value of x the boundary layer becomes thinner and the local rate of heat transfer increases as the rate of suction increases. The approach to the constant thickness state becomes more rapid as gamma, the scaled rate of suction, increases. A detailed asymptotic analysis is undertaken which determine how quickly this asymptotic state is attained for large values of gamma. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.