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Applied Sciences
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Recent Research in Frozen Soil Mechanics and Cold Regions Engineering
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Recent Research in Frozen Soil Mechanics and Cold Regions Engineering

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Earth Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2026 | Viewed by 1339

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dun Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soils Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730030, China
Interests: Mechanics of frozen soil; cold region engineering and environment; disaster prevention and mitigation project
Dr. Fei Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soils Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730030, China
Interests: permafrost-pipeline interaction; thaw settlement hazard

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The distribution area of frozen ground in the Northern Hemisphere is close to 1/4 and is widely spread in regions such as China, Russia, Canada and the United States. With the expansion of global economic construction and the impact of climate change, infrastructure construction in cold areas is increasing day by day, providing a new growth point for global development. However, as a special soil with four phases, frozen soil has strong sensitivity to water, heat, force and time. Conducting infrastructure construction in cold areas must importantly consider the interaction between the structure and frozen soil. Gaining an in-depth understanding of the mechanical properties of frozen soil under complex environmental and engineering conditions has become an important task for engineers and researchers, and many achievements have been made in past studies. In recent years, with the development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, research on frozen soil mechanics and engineering has entered a new stage. This Special Issue aims to publish papers that study the recent research in frozen soil mechanics and its influence on cold regions engineering. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Advances in frozen soil mechanics
  • Frozen soil engineering under extreme environmental and engineering conditions
  • Arctic navigation and frozen soil
  • Hydrology and ice engineering in cold regions
  • AI and frozen soil engineering
  • International cooperation and education in frozen soil mechanics

Dr. Dun Chen
Dr. Fei Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • frozen soil
  • mechanics
  • artificial intelligence
  • climate change
  • hydrology and ice

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 5621 KB  
Article
Research on Performance Optimisation and Viscosity-Reduction Mechanisms of Warm-Mix Rubber Asphalt Pavement Materials in Cold and Arid Regions
by Xiangjun Wei, Debin Zhao, Mei Lin, Ping Li and Guojun Yang
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 4641; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16104641 - 8 May 2026
Viewed by 110
Abstract
In cold and arid regions, the durability of asphalt pavement materials is often inadequate, and the hot mixing process further accelerates pavement ageing and releases harmful gases. To address the high-viscosity of pavement materials in such regions, lower mixing temperatures, extend the construction [...] Read more.
In cold and arid regions, the durability of asphalt pavement materials is often inadequate, and the hot mixing process further accelerates pavement ageing and releases harmful gases. To address the high-viscosity of pavement materials in such regions, lower mixing temperatures, extend the construction duration, and enhance pavement durability, this study systematically investigates a warm-mix technology for rubber-composite-modified asphalt. First, the influence of processing conditions on the viscosity-reducing effect was examined, and the optimal warm-mix preparation process was determined. Second, the properties of warm-mix rubber-modified asphalt were optimised through high- and low-temperature rheological testing. Finally, the mechanism of warm-mix modification was elucidated using microscopic techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The results show that the 40-mesh pelletised desulphurised rubber treated with activator at a 5:1 ratio of activator at 220 °C for 50 h exhibits the optimal viscosity reduction effect. As the proportion of cracked rubber increases, the viscosity-reducing effect first intensifies and then diminishes optimal results are achieved at a dosage of 5%; the optimal comprehensive performance is achieved at a 5% proportion, where the asphalt simultaneously exhibits excellent high-temperature stability and low-temperature crack resistance. The cracking process effectively disrupts the cross-linked network structure of rubber, significantly reducing viscosity while enhancing the compatibility and stability of the asphalt system. Notably, the proposed warm-mix process reduces the production temperature of rubber-modified asphalt by 40–60 °C and lowers its viscosity by approximately 30% compared to conventional asphalt. This improvement provides crucial support for low-temperature construction and viscosity control of rubber-modified asphalt in cold and arid regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research in Frozen Soil Mechanics and Cold Regions Engineering)
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22 pages, 13397 KB  
Article
Stabilization Performance and Mechanism of the Gravelly Soil Stabilizer Prepared from Waste Foam Concrete
by Jizhong Gan, Xiantao Liang, Yang Song, Bingxu Chen, Dongsheng Liu, Wanzhi Cao and Danhua Chen
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(9), 4490; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16094490 - 2 May 2026
Viewed by 370
Abstract
Gravelly soil is widely used in western China but suffers from poor gradation, low water stability, and weak freeze–thaw resistance. Traditional cementitious stabilizers involve high energy and carbon emissions. To address these issues, a novel, eco-friendly gravelly soil stabilizer was prepared from waste [...] Read more.
Gravelly soil is widely used in western China but suffers from poor gradation, low water stability, and weak freeze–thaw resistance. Traditional cementitious stabilizers involve high energy and carbon emissions. To address these issues, a novel, eco-friendly gravelly soil stabilizer was prepared from waste foamed concrete (WFC) via crushing, ball milling, and high-temperature calcination. This study systematically evaluated stabilization performance and mechanisms. Results indicate that the WFC stabilizer significantly enhances soil properties. At the optimal 30% dosage, the 28-day unconfined compressive strength (UCS) reached 6.5 MPa (a 333% increase), and water stability was significantly improved. Under freeze–thaw conditions, the 30% dosage yielded a mere 2% mass loss after five cycles, with the UCS reaching 9.56 MPa (a 437% increase). Microstructural analyses (XRD, SEM) revealed that hydration generates calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gel and katoite (Ca3Al2(SiO4)3−x(OH)4x). These products effectively fill soil pores and the spaces of the particles, optimizing the microstructure. This study provides a sustainable pathway for WFC recycling and offers a relatively lower energy consumption, low-carbon and high-performance stabilizer for reinforcing gravelly soil subgrades in cold regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research in Frozen Soil Mechanics and Cold Regions Engineering)
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30 pages, 5277 KB  
Article
Hierarchical Classification of Erosion Gullies and Interpretation of Influencing Factors Based on Random Forest and SHAP
by Miao Wang, Fukun Wang, Mingwei Hai, Yong Liu, Chunjiao Wang and Fuhui Xiong
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(9), 4215; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16094215 - 25 Apr 2026
Viewed by 197
Abstract
This study aimed to enhance the accuracy and interpretability of erosion gully classification within black soil regions by focusing on Changxing Township, Xinxing District, Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province as the research site. Utilizing RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) surveying technology, three-dimensional topographic data were collected [...] Read more.
This study aimed to enhance the accuracy and interpretability of erosion gully classification within black soil regions by focusing on Changxing Township, Xinxing District, Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province as the research site. Utilizing RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) surveying technology, three-dimensional topographic data were collected for 139 actively developing erosion gullies. Key morphological parameters—including gully length, depth, gradient, average top width, average bottom width, and slope gradients on both sides—were extracted to construct interactive features. The variable set was refined through correlation analysis and variance inflation factor (VIF) diagnostics to mitigate multicollinearity. A random forest model was employed as the primary classification approach and benchmarked against logistic regression, support vector machines (SVM), decision trees, and backpropagation neural networks. To address class imbalance, a combination of class weighting, Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE), and undersampling methods was implemented. Model tuning and interpretability assessments were performed using cross-validation, grid search optimization, and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis. The findings demonstrate that the random forest model achieved superior overall performance, with test set accuracy, macro-averaged F1 score, and balanced accuracy values of 0.9143, 0.8087, and 0.8427, respectively. Among imbalance handling techniques, class weighting yielded better results compared to oversampling and undersampling. Feature importance and SHAP analyses identified gully length, average crest width, and their interaction with gully depth as the principal determinants influencing gully grade classification. These results elucidate the synergistic developmental dynamics of gully longitudinal extension, vertical deepening, and lateral widening. The proposed methodology offers valuable technical support for the rapid surveying, classification, and management decision-making processes related to black soil erosion gullies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research in Frozen Soil Mechanics and Cold Regions Engineering)
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24 pages, 30091 KB  
Article
Check Dam Breach-Induced Amplification of Debris Flows: Insights from Field Investigations and Flume Experiments
by Yu Wang, Yukun Wang, Yanjie Ma, Jinyan Huang, Yakun Yin, Ziyang Xiao, Xingrong Liu and Boyu Li
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(9), 4081; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16094081 - 22 Apr 2026
Viewed by 208
Abstract
While check dams are crucial for debris flow mitigation, they face increasing failure risks under extreme weather and seismic activities. Their collapse can severely amplify debris flow magnitude, yet quantitative understanding of this amplification mechanism remains limited. Based on field investigations in southern [...] Read more.
While check dams are crucial for debris flow mitigation, they face increasing failure risks under extreme weather and seismic activities. Their collapse can severely amplify debris flow magnitude, yet quantitative understanding of this amplification mechanism remains limited. Based on field investigations in southern Gansu, China, and a total of 12 flume experiments (comprising 11 distinct scenarios and 1 representative repeatability test), this study quantitatively assesses the amplification effect of dam breaches under varying channel slopes, check dam types, and bed conditions. Results indicate that dam-breach debris flow evolution comprises three stages: material initiation and deposition, breaching and material release, and recession. Crucially, dam breaching shifts the initiation mode from progressive retrogressive erosion to a near-instantaneous release of mass and potential energy. Compared to no-dam scenarios, breaches amplified peak discharge, erosion rate, and downstream inundated area by factors of 1.65–3.04, 1.44–1.55, and 2.14–2.77, respectively. This amplification is driven by the rapid initial release of material and energy, compounded by erosional entrainment during the transport phase. Furthermore, check dam type and channel slope act as key controlling factors. By revealing how check dams transition from protective structures to hazard sources, this study provides quantitative experimental evidence for optimizing dam design and advancing resilient disaster risk reduction strategies in mountainous regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research in Frozen Soil Mechanics and Cold Regions Engineering)
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