A numerical experiment has been conducted to determine the interfacial convective heat transfer coefficient in the two-energy equation model for convection in porous media, which is needed when the local thermal equilibrium between the fluid and solid phases breaks down. The similarity of periodically fully developed temperature profiles allows one to perform a numerical experiment using only a single structural unit for determining the fully developed heat transfer coefficient without any empiricism. A universal correlation for the Nusselt number, which agrees well with available experimental data, has been established using the results obtained for a wide range of porosity, Prandtl and Reynolds numbers. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.