Sand behavior in a cavity with incompressible liquid under vertical vibrations

The mean dynamics of a "thick" sand bed in a closed cell filled with liquid and subjected to vertical vibration is reported at different amplitudes b and frequencies Omega/2 pi of vibration for different grain sizes. The generation of a quasi-steady relief made of a 2D regular system of heaps of relatively small size is found. The gradual transition from rest to relief formation and after it to liquefaction and parametrical oscillations of the sand surface with increasing vibration intensity is studied. The dimensionless vibrational parameters governing these transitions are determined.