  Particles in granular flows are often modeled as frictionless (smooth)
inelastic spheres; however, there exist no frictionless grains, just as there
are no elastic grains. Our molecular dynamics simulations reveal that friction
is essential for realistic modeling of vertically oscillated granular layers:
simulations of frictionless particles yield patterns with an onset at a
container acceleration about 30% smaller than that observed in experiments and
simulations with friction. More importantly, even though square and hexagonal
patterns form for a wide range of the oscillation parameters in experiments and
in our simulations of frictional inelastic particles, only stripe patterns form
in the simulations without friction, even if the inelasticity is increased to
obtain as much dissipation as in frictional particles. We also consider the
effect of particle friction on the shock wave that forms each time the granular
layer strikes the container. While a shock wave still forms for frictionless
particles, the height and time dependence of the hydrodynamic fields differ for
the cases with and without friction.
