We have measured the flux of grains from a hole in the bottom of a shaken container of grains. We find that the peak velocity of the vibration, $v_{\mathit{max}}$, controls the flux, i.e., the flux is nearly independent of the frequency and acceleration amplitude for a given value of $v_{\mathit{max}}$. The flux decreases with increasing peak velocity and then becomes almost constant for the largest values of $v_{\mathit{max}}$. The data at low peak velocity can be quantitatively described by a simple model, but the crossover to nearly constant flux at larger peak velocity suggests a regime in which the granular density near the container bottom is independent of the energy input to the system.

• Received 22 August 2005

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.74.011306