Freeze-thaw cycles are a major cause for destabilizing pavements in cold regions. Among countermeasures for freeze-thaw damages, use of geocells to reinforce pavement bases is an effective solution in practice. However, as opposed to widespread applications, research concerning freeze-thaw behavior of geocell-reinforced bases is limited, probably due to a lack of proper devices for conducting experimental tests. This paper presents a new model-test device capable of performing both freeze-thaw tests and plate loading tests on geocell-reinforced soils. A thermodynamic numerical model was developed to assist with the design of freeze-thaw component of the device, while the design of plate loading component was developed by referring to features of existing devices. Eleven tests were run on geocell-reinforced and unreinforced sands to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed device. The test results showed the device successfully provided vertical heat transfer in sands during freeze and thaw. After five freeze-thaw cycles, geocells reduced peak frost heave and thaw settlement of sands by 18% and 34%, respectively, and increased the stiffness and bearing capacity by 40% and 253%, respectively. It was found a temperature drop occurred at the interface between cooling plate and sands, which was due to the existence of thermal contact resistance.

冻融循环是寒冷地区人行道失稳的主要原因。在解决冻融破坏的对策中，使用土工格室加固路面基础是实际的有效解决方案。但是，与广泛应用相反，有关土工格室加筋基础的冻融特性的研究受到限制，这可能是由于缺乏进行实验测试的合适设备所致。本文介绍了一种新型模型测试设备，该设备能够在土工格室加筋的土壤上执行冻融测试和板载测试。开发了一个热力学数值模型来辅助设备的冻融组件的设计，同时通过参考现有设备的功能来开发板加载组件的设计。在经土工格室加固和未经加固的沙子上进行了11次测试，以确认所提出装置的有效性。测试结果表明，该设备在冻结和解冻过程中成功地在沙子中提供了垂直传热。经过五个冻融循环后，土工格室分别使高峰期的冻胀和沙丘的融化沉降分别降低了18％和34％，刚度和承载力分别提高了40％和253％。发现在冷却板和沙子之间的界面处发生了温度下降，这是由于存在热接触电阻。分别将刚度和承载能力提高了40％和253％。发现在冷却板和沙子之间的界面处发生了温度下降，这是由于存在热接触电阻。分别将刚度和承载能力提高了40％和253％。发现在冷却板和沙子之间的界面处发生了温度下降，这是由于存在热接触电阻。