The shear strength and compressive volumetric strain are two key parameters which control the mechanical behaviors of the frozen soil-structure interface. A large-scale multifunctional direct shear apparatus is first designed and manufactured

and then used to determine the mechanical properties of the frozen soil-structure interface. Based on the experimental results

the principles of continuum damage mechanics are employed to develop a shear strength and compression damage model

which can be used to describe the mechanical behavior of frozen soil-structure interface. In the proposed model

the conditions of uniform strain

vanishing elastic zone and uncoupled elastic strain are assumed

and the ratio of irreversible volumetric strain to the maximum irreversible strain is used as a damage factor. Comparison of simulated and experimental results shows that the proposed model yields good results.