Influence of variable permeability on combined free and forced convection flow past a semi-infinite vertical plate in a saturated porous medium

Combined free and forced convection flow of viscous incompressible fluid past a semi-infinite vertical plate embedded in a porous medium incorporating the variation of permeability and thermal conductivity are studied. Similarity solutions are obtained, for two cases namely uniform permeability (UP) and variable permeability (VP). Velocity and temperature profiles are shown graphically and the numerical values of the skin friction and the rate of heat transfer are entered in tabular form. The effects of the parameters Gr/Re2 (Gr – Grashof number, Re – the Reynolds number), α (coefficient of viscosity’s of the fluid and porous medium), σ (the Darcy number), σ* (ratio of thermal conductivity of the solid to the liquid), Pr (the Prandtl number) and E (the Eckert number) on the flow field are discussed.