Convective heat and mass transfer coefficients are used to calculate the rate at which convection sweeps heat and mass away from the interface. Convection in melt growth is driven by various forces, and the resulting convoluted flows are laminar or turbulent. Furthermore, cross-flow through the "porous" interface has a profound effect on convection. Thus, a general effective coefficient (h(eff)), which accounts for: (i) uniform flow "suction" through the porous interface, (ii) forced and/or natural convection, (iii) laminar or turbulent flow, and (iv) finite Schmidt numbers, is derived. Focusing next on solute segregation, mass conservation is used to derive a simple equation for k(eff) (effective segregation coefficient) as a function of h(eff). Here, h(eff) is an input, which provides the rate at which convection sweeps the rejected solute away from the interface. From the general expression, even simpler expressions are developed for restricted range of conditions, e.g., Czochralski growth under forced laminar convection (no natural convection or turbulence). h(eff) utilizes numerous established correlations, all developed for impermeable solids. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.