We simulated rapid flow in transient plane Couette flows of granular particles using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) solutions of a set of continuum equations. This simulation was performed to test the viability of SPH in solving the equations for the solid phase of the two-fluid model associated with fluidization. We found that SPH requires the handling of fewer particles in simulating the collective behavior of rapid granular flow, thereby bolstering expectations of solving the equations for the solid phase in the two-fluid modeling of fluidization. Further work is needed to investigate the effect of terms describing pressure and viscous stress of solids on stability in simulations. (C) 2014 Chinese Society of Particuology and Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.