Cold regions cover 50% of the land area of the whole world. The construction of railways, highways, and tunnels in cold regions is a critical theme for development, producing a substantial number of demands and challenges. Due to the existence of ice particles, the physical and mechanical behaviors of frozen soil are complex and different from ordinary soil. In addition, the artificial freezing method has been widely used in subways, undersea tunnels, and vertical shafts of coal mine because of its efficient waterproof effect.

However, the mechanical behaviors of frozen soil show the strong temperature dependency of dynamic characteristics evolution in the process of engineering construction. The special physical and mechanical properties of frozen soil put forward higher requirements for engineering planning, design, construction, operation, and other technologies. Many problems encountered in frozen soil engineering, such as multistrain rate response of frozen soil, internal water migration mechanism of frozen soil, soil frost heaving and thawing settlement mechanism, and control technology, need to be further studied and explored. Hence, it is of great significance to study the thermal and mechanical behavior and engineering response of frozen soil.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to invite original research articles and reviews focusing on the strength and deformation properties of frozen soil considering the effect of water, temperature and stress states. Moreover, environmental changes and protection measures for frozen soil in cold regions are also welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Water migration mechanism of frozen soil
• Permafrost environment and hydrology
• Constitutive model of frozen soil considering its four-phase composition
• Mechanism of frost heaving and thawing settlement of frozen soil and the corresponding control measures
• Permafrost degeneration
• New testing technology and equipment for frozen soil materials
• Theory and technology of artificial freezing method
• Design and maintenance of frozen soil engineering