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Modeling and prediction of progressive salinization and deformation of unsaturated subgrades in saline seasonally frozen regions
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DOI：10.1016/j.compgeo.2026.108498.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Progressive salinization is a concealed deterioration mechanism for unsaturated highway subgrades in saline and seasonally frozen regions, where initially non-saline or slightly saline fills may gradually accumulate salts during service. This study develops a coupled thermo–hydro–salt–mechanical numerical model to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution, deformation response, and long-term prediction of progressive subgrade salinization under seasonal temperature variations. The coupled model was first validated against a published one-dimensional freezing test on sulfate saline soil and was further evaluated using an independent two-dimensional reconstructed-subgrade benchmark reported in the literature. The model was then applied to an idealized subgrade-scale system subjected to continuous water–salt supply from an underlying saline foundation. The results show that subgrade salinization follows a seasonal sequence of freezing-period enrichment, thaw-induced dissolution and redistribution, and summer stabilization. Salt enrichment is highly nonuniform, and slope geometry further modifies this pattern by promoting water–salt convergence near the slope shoulder and lateral redistribution near the slope toe. Over 10 years, salt content increases nonlinearly and asymptotically, with much of the accumulation occurring within the first annual cycle. As foundation salinity increases from 0.3 % to 1.3 %, the 10-year salt content rises from 0.26 % to 0.93 % in the subgrade body and from 0.27 % to 0.99 % in the slope. Deformation concentrates near the subgrade shoulder and upper slope, where salt expansion gradually becomes dominant over frost heave as foundation salinity increases. Simulation-based empirical models were proposed as preliminary tools for predicting long-term salinization and maximum vertical deformation at the subgrade shoulder within the investigated parameter range.
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