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In the Loess Plateau in Northern China, repeated freeze-thaw (FT) cycles deteriorate the strength and structure of loess as a foundation soil, resulting in the instability or failure of supporting structure. Lignosulfonate is an eco-material, utilized as an effective and nontraditional stabilizer to improve the engineering properties of metastable soils. A series of laboratory tests, including unconfined compression tests, cyclic loading-unloading tests and scanning electron microscopy, on calcium lignosulfonate (CL)- and sodium lignosulfonate (SL)-stabilized loess were performed to investigate the stabilization effect, deterioration mechanisms of the FT cycles, and the resistance to FT cycles. Two traditional stabilizers, quicklime (QL) and sodium silicate (SS), were selected, and the engineering properties of QL- and SS-stabilized loess were compared with those of CL- and SL-stabilized loess. The results showed that the strength values of CL- and SL-stabilized loess specimens decreased by 34.2% and 50% respectively, after 20 FT cycles, whereas those of the traditionally SS- and QL- stabilized specimens decreased by 85.3% and 82.87%, respectively. The elastic moduli of SL- and QL-stabilized loess specimens decreased by 22.1% and 92.0%, respectively. The mean energy dissipations of nontraditionally treated specimens also decreased significantly less than those of traditionally treated specimens. Overall, the results showed CL and SL had better stabilization effects on engineering properties of loess than QL and SS, and their stabilized loess specimens exhibited stronger resistance to FT cycles. The study findings demonstrated the significant potential of lignosulfonate for extensive application in cold loess areas.

Freeze-thaw cycles are closely related to the slope instability in high-altitude mountain regions. In this study, cohesive coarse-grained soils were collected from a high-altitude slope in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to study the effect of cyclic freeze-thaw on their uniaxial mechanical properties. The soil specimens were remolded with three dry densities and three moisture contents. Then, after performing a series of freeze-thaw tests in a closed system without water supply, the soil specimens were subjected to a uniaxial compression test. The results showed that the stress-strain curves of the tested soils mainly performed as strain-softening. The softening feature intensified with the increasing dry density but weakened with an increase in freeze-thaw cycles and moisture content. The uniaxial compressive strength, resilient modulus, residual strength and softening modulus decreased considerably with the increase of freeze-thaw cycles. After more than nine freeze-thaw cycles, these four parameters tended to be stable. These parameters increased with the increase of dry density and decreased with the increasing moisture content, except for the residual strength which did not exhibit any clear variation with an increase in moisture content. The residual strength, however, generally increased with an increase in dry density. The soil structural damage caused by frozen water expansion during the freeze-thaw is the major cause for the changes in mechanical behaviors of cohesive coarse-grained soils. With results in this study, the deterioration effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the mechanical properties of soils should be considered during the slope stability analysis in high-altitude mountain regions.

The permafrost along the China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline (CRCOP) is degrading since the pipeline operation in 2011. Heat dissipated from the pipeline, climate warming and anthropogenic activities leads to permafrost warming. The processes of permafrost warming along the CRCOP were studied based on the monitoring of air and soil temperatures, and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys. Results show that: (1) the mean annual air temperature (MAAT) in permafrost regions along the CRCOP increased with a rate of 0.21°C/10a–0.40°C/10a during the past five decades; (2) the mean annual ground temperature (MAGT, at −15 m depth) of undisturbed permafrost increased by 0.2°C and the natural permafrost table remained unchanged due to the zero-curtain effect; (3) permafrost surrounding the uninsulated pipeline right-of-way warmed significantly compared with that in a natural site. During 2012–2017, the MAGT and the artificial permafrost table, 2 m away from the pipeline centerline, increased at rates of 0.063°C/a and 1.0 m/a. The thaw bulb developed around the pipe and exhibits a faster lateral expansion; (4) 80- mm-thick insulation could reduce the heat exchange between the pipeline and underlying permafrost and then keep the permafrost and pipe stable. The MAGT and the artificial permafrost table, 4.8 m away from the center line of the pipeline, increased by 0.3°C/a and 0.43 m/a, respectively. Due to the heat disturbance caused by warm oil, the degradation of wetland, controlled burn each autumn and climate warming, the permafrost extent reduced and warmed significantly along the CRCOP route. Field observations provide basic data to clarify the interactions between CRCOP and permafrost degradation and environmental effects in the context of climate change.

The formation of thawed interlayer beneath embankment can result in embankment settlement in permafrost regions. Based on the data on ground temperatures and deformations beneath the embankment, observed in-situ along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in permafrost regions from 2006 to 2013, characteristics of the thawed interlayer beneath the embankment and its influence on the embankment settlement are studied. The results indicate that the thawed interlayer hardly forms beneath the natural field, and beneath the embankments from the Qinghai-Tibet Railway the thawed interlayer develops widely, and it can be refrozen totally in the regions with lower mean annual ground temperature, and developed further in the regions with higher mean annual ground temperature. The thawed interlayer is closely related to the embankment settlement. The ice content of permafrost underlying the thawed interlayer influences the settlement of embankment. The higher the ice content is, the larger the settlement is, and vice versa. The increase in thickness of thawed interlayer mainly results from the decline of artificial permafrost table in high-temperature permafrost regions.

Compacted loess is widely used as fills of road embankments in loess regions of northern China. Generally, densely-compacted loess can satisfy the requirements of embankment strength and post-construction deformation. I lowever, uneven subsidence, pavement cracks and other related damages can affect the integrity of loess subgrade after several years of operation, and even cause some hazards, especially in North China, where the strong freeze-thaw erosion occurs. In this study, cyclic freeze-thaw tests for both densely and loosely compacted loess samples were performed to determine the variation in engineering properties such as volume, void ratio, collapsible settlement, microstructure, and the related mechanisms were addressed. The experimental results showed that an obvious water migration and redistribution occurred within the samples during freeze-thaw cycles. Ice lenses and fissures could be identified in the upper frozen layers of the samples. After freeze-thaw cycles, the dry densities of the nipper layers of samples changed significantly due to strong freeze-thaw erosion. The dry densities decreased for the dense sample and increased for the loose sample. It can be found that dense samples become loose, while loose samples became dense with the increasing number of freeze-thaw cycles. Their related void ratios changed reversely. Both void ratios tended to fall into a certain range, which verified the concept of a residual void ratio proposed by Viklander. The loosening process of densely compacted samples involves the formation of large pores, volume increase and density reduction as well as the related changes in mechanical properties because freeze-thaw cycles may be important contribution to problems of loess road embankments. Adverse effects of freeze-thaw cycles, therefore, should be taken into account in selecting loess parameters for the stability evaluation of road embankment in seasonally frozen ground regions.