The constrained melting inside an isothermally heated horizontal cylinder has been repeatedly investigated in many studies only for the moderate Rayleigh numbers. This study extends the range of Rayleigh numbers to systematically investigate the transition during melting processes, especially focusing on the complex multi-cellular flow pattern and thermal instability. The enthalpy-porosity formulation, with appropriate source terms to account for the phase change, is employed. For low Rayleigh numbers, initially developed single-cell base flow keeps the flow stable. For moderate Rayleigh numbers, even small disturbances in balance between thermal buoyance force and viscous force result in branched flow structure. For high Rayleight numbers, Benard type convection is found to develop within a narrow gap between thee wall and the unmelted solid. The marginal Rayleigh number and the corresponding wave number are in excellent agreement with those from linear stability theory.