MELTING WITH MIXED CONVECTION FLOW FROM HORIZONTAL FLAT-PLATE EMBEDDED IN A POROUS-MEDIUM

The problem of melting from a flat plate embedded in a porous medium is studied. The main focus is to determine the effect of mixed convection flow in the liquid phase on the melting phenomenon. It is discussed of the numerical considerations of boundary conditions and coupling between the governing equations through buyoyancy and melting parameters. Computations have been made for assisting flow over a horizontal flat plate at zero incident, and for stagnation point flow about a horizontal impermeable surface. It is found that the parameter governing mixed convection in porous media is Ra/(RePr)3/2. The effects of buoyance and melting parameters variations on heat transfer characteristics about a heated horizontal surfaces are examined. The melting phenomenon decreases the local Nusselt number at the solid-liquid interface.