{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,22]],"date-time":"2026-06-22T04:48:51Z","timestamp":1782103731696,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781481600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The Program of the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering\uff0cCAS","award":["CSFSE-KF-2424"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CSFSE-KF-2424"]}]},{"name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China-Key Program","award":["12432020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["12432020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>To reveal the electromagnetic response characteristics and hydro-thermal evolution mechanism of frozen soil under microwave irradiation, we used remolded frozen soil prepared from undisturbed parent soil collected in Hegang, China, as the research object. We conducted dielectric parameter tests across the 715\u20131150 MHz and 2250\u20132650 MHz frequency bands and 1.5 kW microwave heating tests on specimens with three gravimetric water contents (15%, 20%, and 25%) paired with a coupled numerical simulation of electromagnetic field-heat transfer-moisture migration. The results show that water content is the dominant factor controlling the dielectric response of frozen soil. The dielectric loss and water content sensitivity of frozen soil in the low-frequency band (dominated by unfrozen water) are significantly higher than those in the high-frequency band (dominated by ice phase and soil matrix). Microwave-induced temperature rise exhibits a three-stage characteristic, as follows: slow temperature rise, isothermal plateau at the freezing point, and rapid temperature rise. Specimens with a lower initial water content show a higher temperature rise efficiency in the late heating stage, with a maximum rate of 1.112 \u00b0C\u00b7s\u22121 for the 15% water content specimen. Mass loss is negatively correlated with initial water content, with a maximum value of 1.8 g after 120 s of irradiation. In addition, the non-uniformity of the electromagnetic field results in a temperature field pattern characterized by a high-temperature core at the specimen center and lower temperatures at the edges. This study provides fundamental theoretical support and technical guidance for the application of microwave thawing technology in geotechnical engineering, particularly for frozen soil foundation treatment in cold regions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma19122583","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T15:00:48Z","timestamp":1781535648000},"page":"2583","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Dielectric Properties and Electromagnetic\u2013Thermal\u2013Moisture Coupling of Frozen Soil Under Microwave Irradiation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Baoyi","family":"He","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Xi\u2019an Key Laboratory of Mechanics of Building Materials, School of Science, Xi\u2019an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi\u2019an 710055, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zixin","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xi\u2019an Key Laboratory of Mechanics of Building Materials, School of Science, Xi\u2019an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi\u2019an 710055, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhuo","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shandong Energy Group New Energy Group Co., Ltd., Jinan 250014, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yixiang","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shandong Energy Group New Energy Group Co., Ltd., Jinan 250014, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hongge","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanics and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Dynamics and Control, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Intelligent Manufacturing and Automotive Engineering, Guangdong University of Business and Technology, Zhaoqing 526020, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zihan","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xi\u2019an Key Laboratory of Mechanics of Building Materials, School of Science, Xi\u2019an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi\u2019an 710055, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Litao","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anshuai","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanics and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Dynamics and Control, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9488-5433","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xuehui","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xi\u2019an Key Laboratory of Mechanics of Building Materials, School of Science, Xi\u2019an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi\u2019an 710055, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"99","DOI":"10.1002\/ppp.1772","article-title":"Recent advances in mountain permafrost research","volume":"24","year":"2013","journal-title":"Permafr. 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