The effects of small vibrations on a particle oscillating near a solid wall in a fluid cell, relevant to material processing such as crystal growth in space, have been investigated experimentally and theoretically. Assuming the boundary layer around the particle to be thin compared to the particle radius at high vibration frequencies, an inviscid fluid model was developed to predict the motion of a spherical particle placed near a wall of a rectangular liquid-filled cell subjected to a sinusoidal vibration. Under these conditions, a non-uniform pressure distribution around the particle results in an average pressure that gives rise to an attraction force. Theoretical expressions for the attraction force are derived for the particle vibrating normal to and parallel with the nearest cell wall. The magnitude of this attractive force has been verified experimentally by measuring the motion of a steel particle suspended in the fluid cell by a thin wire. Experiments performed at high frequencies showed that the mean particle position, when the particle is brought near a cell wall, shifts towards the same wall, and is dependent on the cell amplitude and frequency, particle and fluid densities. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.