Some numerical simulations of drained and undrained triaxial tests on granular materials with different initial densities are carried out with the three-dimensional discrete element method. An in-depth particle-scale analysis is performed quantitatively to illustrate the physical mechanism of the shear mechanical behaviors, with a special attention paid to the characteristics of quasi-steady state and critical state. The simulation results show that the initial density and shear drainage condition both have significant effects on the evolution of stress-strain, coordination number, fabric anisotropy factor, force chains and clusters. The chained grains ratio and the mean length of force chains in the specimens are constantly adjusted to bear and transfer the changing external loads. The transitions between small clusters and large clusters are also continually taking place in varying degrees, correlating to volumetric contraction or dilation. For the loose undrained triaxial specimen presenting quasi-steady state during shearing, the coordination number decreases obviously to nearly 4 and then increases again; the chained grains ratio decreases after a slight increase in the initial loading stage, and then begin to increase again after a period of lower value of around 0.285; the volume ratio of small, submedium and medium clusters all first decreases and then increase gradually, meanwhile volume ratio of large clusters increases sharply to as much as 0.28 and then decreases gradually. The macroscopic critical state of granular materials is a comprehensively external manifestation when the microscopic coordination number and mesoscopic force chains and clusters all evolute to a dynamic equilibrium. At the critical state, the deviator stress, void ratio, coordination number, fabric anisotropy factor, and the volume ratio of small clusters and large clusters all manifest a respectively unique linear relationship with the mean effective stress.

The soil beneath buildings constructed in cold regions is affected by frost heave, causing the walls to crack and even the buildings to incline and collapse. Therefore, predicting the frost heave when subjected to overburden pressure is crucial for engineering buildings in cold areas. Utilizing the conservation equation of mass, Darcy's equation, and the assumption that the pore water pressure at the top of a frozen fringe, denoted as uw, during the quasi-steady state can be approximately estimated using the Clapeyron equation, a quasi-steady frost heave rate model considering the overburden pressure was proposed. This study considered the difference in pore water pressure within the frozen fringe, which causes water to move from the unfrozen zone to the ice lens, where it subsequently accumulates and freezes into ice. The pore water pressure at the bottom of the frozen fringe, denoted as uu, can be estimated using the soil water characteristic curve (SWCC). The thickness of the frozen fringe was determined using the freezing temperature, segregation temperature, and temperature gradient. The segregation temperature was determined using the two-point method. Additionally, the model suggested that, when uw = uu, the movement of water stopped, leading to the end of frost heave. To validate the proposed model, three existing frost-heaving experiments were analyzed. The findings demonstrated that the estimated rates of frost heave of the samples closely matched the experimental data. Additionally, external pressure delayed water migration. This study can offer theoretical support for building engineering in cold regions.