  We examine the steady state properties of binary systems of driven inelastic
hard spheres. The spheres, which move under the influence of gravity, are
contained in a vertical cylinder with a vibrating base. We computed the
trajectories of the spheres using an event-driven molecular dynamics algorithm.
In the first part of the study, we chose simulation parameters that match those
of experiments performed by Wildman and Parker. Various properties computed
from the simulation including the density profile, granular temperature and
circulation pattern are in good qualitative agreement with the experiments. We
then studied the effect of varying the mass ratio and the size ratio
independently while holding the other parameters constant. The mass and size
ratio are shown to affect the distribution of the energy. The changes in the
energy distributions affect the packing fraction and temperature of each
component. The temperature of the heavier component has a non-linear dependence
on the mass of the lighter component, while the temperature of the lighter
component is approximately proportional to its mass. The temperature of both
components is inversely dependent on the size of the smaller component.

Statistical Mechanics;Soft Condensed Matter