Domains growth and packing properties in driven granular media subject to gravity

We study the dynamical properties of recently introduced frustrated lattice gas models (IFLG and Tetris) Fur granular media under gentle shaking. We c onsider both the case where grains have inter-grain surface interactions ot her than contact forces and the case where they have not, corresponding, fo r instance, to the presence or absence of moisture in the packs. To charact erise the grains packing structure, we discuss the properties of density di stribution. In particular, we consider the phenomenon of grains domain form ation under compaction. New results amenable to experimental check are disc ussed along with some important differences between the dynamics of the pre sent models. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.