We present experimental observations of the onset of flow (liquefaction) forhorizontally vibrated granular materials. As the acceleration increases abovecertain value, the top layer of granular material liquefies, while theremainder of the layer moves with the shaker in solid body motion. Withincreasing acceleration, more of the layer becomes fluidized. The initialbifurcation is backward, and the amount of hysteresis depends mainly onfrictional properties of the granular media. A small amount of fluidization bygas flow lifts the hysteresis. Modest differences in the frictional propertiesof otherwise identical particles leads to rapid segregation.
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