Frost heave in seasonal freeze–thaw zones poses critical operational risks to airport runways in cold regions. While gravel cushions, soil stabilization, and insulation boards are commonly employed, quantitative evaluation of their effectiveness remains limited. This study establishes a thermal–hydraulic–mechanical (THM)-coupled model to systematically compare three frost protection strategies under extreme conditions (−45°C). Field monitoring over 12 months at an Inner Mongolia airport provided calibration data for model parameters, including water–ice ratio and expansion coefficient. Numerical simulations revealed that gravel cushion effectiveness shows a linear correlation: each 1-cm thickness increment reduces pavement frost heave by 0.028 mm and shoulder heave by 0.069 mm, although frozen depth increases by 0.0005 and 0.002 m, respectively. Cement-stabilized soil achieves optimal performance at 9% cement content, beyond which marginal benefits diminish substantially. Insulation board effectiveness exhibits nonlinear behavior, with decreasing returns per unit increase in thickness. The validated THM model accurately predicted field-measured temperature, moisture, and deformation patterns, with results demonstrating that 89% of frost heave occurs within the upper 1.5 m of depth. These quantitative relationships provide actionable design parameters for cold-region airport infrastructure, enabling engineers to balance frost protection effectiveness with economic optimization in runway construction and maintenance strategies.
Huang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.