Traveling waves in a water-immersed binary granular system vibrated within an annular cell

It has been known since the time of Faraday that vertically vibrated fine grains may spontaneously form piles through their interaction with a fluid. More recently, it has been observed that a fine binary mixture may separate under vertical vibration through the differential influence of the fluid on the two granular components. Here, we report a detailed study of a system of water-immersed bronze and glass grains held between two coaxial cylinders. Under vertical vibration, the bronze separates to form a layer above the glass, which itself breaks symmetry to form a pile. Symmetry is broken a second time by the bronze forming layers of different thicknesses upon the two slopes of the glass pile. The pile then travels as a wave with the thicker bronze layer upon its leading surface. We examine the conditions for these traveling waves and determine how their speed varies with particle size, frequency, and amplitude of vibration. A model is developed which provides a semiquantitative account of the wave motion.