Stability Evaluation and Intelligent Resilience Enhancement Technology of Transportation Infrastructure

Submission Deadline: 28 June 2027 View: 23 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editor(s)

Prof. Yu Zhang

Email: zhangyu@mail.lzjtu.cn

Affiliation: School of Traffic and Transportation, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, China

Homepage:

Research Interests: Plateau environment induced THM coupling in transport infrastructure, coupled freeze-thaw and traffic loading damage, multi-scale stability and deformation, altitude-dependent constitutive models, long-term performance prediction via coupled-field analysis, model validation with field monitoring data

Assoc. Prof. Sheng Shi

Email: shishenghit@163.com

Affiliation: School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, China

Homepage:

Research Interests: performance degradation mechanisms of transportation infrastructure under extreme climates, multi-hazard coupling effects, data-driven and physics-based prediction models for service life, early warning and resilience assessment under changing climate conditions

Dr. Weiwei Niu

Email: weiwei.niu.etu@univ-lille.fr

Affiliation: 1. School of Traffic and Transportation, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, China

2. School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, China

3. Laboratoire de Génie Civil et géo-Environnement(LGCgE), Lille, France

Homepage:

Research Interests: soil stabilization and ground improvement, frozen soil mechanics and cold regions engineering, sustainable subgrade engineering and material durability, micro-mechanics and multi-scale simulation of geomaterials

Dr. Xing Wu

Email: wuxingjs@gmail.com

Affiliation: 1. School of Traffic and Transportation, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, China 

2. Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

Homepage:

Research Interests: transportation infrastructure materials design, evaluation and modelling of fiber reinforced composites, multi-dimensional simulation of composites, finite element simulation, micro-mechanical theory analysis, intelligent infrastructure material analysis based on deep learning methods

Summary

With the intensification of global climate change, the construction, operation, and maintenance of transportation infrastructure are facing increasingly severe challenges, particularly in highaltitude plateau regions where low temperature, low atmospheric pressure, intense solar radiation, and frequent freezethaw cycles prevail. Under the complex coupling effect of hydraulicthermalmechanical (THM) multifields, transportation infrastructure—including roads, bridges, tunnels, and subgrades—is highly susceptible to instability, manifested as frost heave, thaw settlement, cracking, and progressive deformation, which seriously undermine long-term safe service performance and engineering durability. To tackle this challenge, it is imperative to achieve theoretical and technological breakthroughs across multiple research fronts. These include refined engineering geological investigation and zoning under extreme climates, advanced structural disease diagnosis and remediation strategies, and systematic theoretical and experimental studies on coupled heat and mass transfer in frozen soils. Furthermore, the development of altitude-dependent constitutive models for geomaterials, multi-scale numerical simulations (from micro- to macro-scale) of deformation and stability under coupled freeze-thaw and traffic loading, and long-term performance prediction based on coupled-field analysis are critically needed. Crucially, all numerical models must be rigorously validated against long-term field monitoring data from plateau transportation projects, enabling reliable resilience assessment and adaptive maintenance planning. Ultimately, integrating these efforts will support the design of green, climate-resilient infrastructure and enhance the operational safety and sustainability of transport networks in fragile alpine environments.

Keywords