We study a thin liquid film with a free surface on a planar horizontal substrate. The substrate is subjected to oscillatory accelerations in the normal and/or in the horizontal direction(s). The description is based on the longwave approximation including inertia effects, which are important due to the large velocities imparted by external vibrations. The linearized system is examined using the Floquet analysis. Pattern formation in the nonlinear regime is computed numerically from the longwave equations for the thickness and the flow rate of the fluid in two and in three spatial dimensions. For certain amplitude and frequency ranges, combined lateral and normal oscillations can give rise to one or more traveling drops, similar to recent experimental findings by Brunet et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 144501 (2007)].

• Received 12 December 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.88.023025