Bearing Capacity of Frozen Soil Pile Foundations in Cold Regions: A State-of-the-Art Review

In cold regions, seasonal temperature variations, atmospheric warming, and intensified human engineering activities often lead to disasters such as frost heaving, thaw settlement, tilting, and concrete cracking in pile foundations. These incidents often result in the decrease of the bearing capacity of pile foundations, posing new and greater challenges to pile foundations in cold regions. The current research status of the bearing capacity of frozen soil pile foundations was summarized. Based on the unique properties of frozen soil, the main force types and characteristics of frozen soil pile foundation systems were described; the changing mechanisms of mechanical properties at the pile-frozen soil interface were detailed in terms of experimental testing and the load transfer mechanism; the variations in the bearing capacity of frozen soil pile foundations and the methods for analysis and prediction were illustrated from the perspectives of experimental tests, theoretical analyses and numerical simulations; main monitoring techniques for temperature, moisture, stress and strain in the pile-frozen soil system were also described. Finally, prospects for future research on the bearing characteristics of frozen soil pile foundations in cold regions were presented.