Long Li’s research while affiliated with Xi’an University and other places

Affected by climate warming and anthropogenic disturbances, the thermo-mechanical stability of warm and ice-rich frozen ground along the Qinghai–Tibet Railway (QTR) is continuously decreasing, and melting subsidence damage to existing warm frozen soil (WFS) embankments is constantly occurring, thus seriously affecting the stability and safety of the existing WFS embankments. In this study, in order to solve the problems associated with the melting settlement of existing WFS embankments, a novel reinforcement technology for ground improvement, called an inclined soil–cement continuous mixing wall (ISCW), is proposed to reinforce embankments in warm and ice-rich permafrost regions. A numerical simulation of a finite element model was conducted to study the freeze–thaw process and evaluate the stabilization effects of the ISCW on an existing WFS embankment of the QTR. The numerical investigations revealed that the ISCW can efficiently reduce the melt settlement in the existing WFS embankment, as well as increase the bearing capacity of the existing WFS embankment, making it favorable for improving the bearing ability of composite foundations. The present investigation breaks through the traditional ideas of “active cooling” and “passive protection” and provides valuable guidelines for the choice of engineering supporting techniques to stabilize existing WFS embankments along the QTR.

In permafrost regions with warm frozen soil, the pile foundation is commonly used, but most currently available models for the WFS foundation pile–soil system are either highly empirical or overcomplicated, without a simplified theoretical manner in engineering. This study derives a novel and simplified calculated model of the WFS pile–soil system. The model is formulated in terms of the shear deformation theory and load transfer method based on the rigorous deformation mechanism of the WFS foundation soil around the pile. Considering the different depth soil features and the equilibrium state of the pile–soil system, dividing warm frozen soil foundation into three regions (TPPR, ER, and BPPR) to calculate the Dp and Ds can simply obtain the total displacement of pile under different loads. The results demonstrate that the present theoretical model can well predict the WFS foundation load–displacement response of the pile. The present model provides a simple, practical, and effective approach for the estimation of the load–displacement behavior of piles installed in the WFS foundation.