The principle of effective stress is widely recognized as the cornerstone of soil mechanics, with its application extending beyond soils to other porous materials such as rocks and concrete. In recent decades, there has been a significant surge in scientific research and engineering practice in cold regions, where the classical framework of effective stress in soil mechanics is frequently invoked. However, there is no consensus either on mathematical expressions or especially on the physical nature of effective stress in a soil when ice is involved. This paper starts from Terzaghi's principle of effective stress for saturated soils, and subsequently Bishop's work for unsaturated soils and the Clapeyron equation for phase change are introduced as the basis for further discussions. Focus is laid on a comprehensive analysis on formulas for effective stress with respect to cold regions geotechnical engineering. Two categories are classified, in which the effective stress is considered to be undertaken by soil skeleton only and by soil skeleton-ice system together, respectively. They may generate calculated results that can efficiently interpret experiments or observations, while both are rather speculative and faced with major challenges. Controversies on effective stress for unfrozen soils are analyzed with respect to cold regions geotechnical engineering. It is recognized hardly possible to develop a mechanism-based principle of effective stress based on the current understandings, while it is questionable to develop it based on that for unfrozen soils. Two potential approaches are suggested that might be applicable for cold regions geotechnical engineering.

有效应力原理被广泛认为是土壤力学的基石，其应用范围已从土壤扩展到岩石和混凝土等其他多孔材料。近几十年来，寒冷地区的科学研究和工程实践显着激增，土力学有效应力的经典框架被频繁引用。然而，在数学表达式上，尤其是在涉及冰时土壤中有效应力的物理性质上，还没有达成共识。本文从Terzaghi关于饱和土的有效应力原理出发，随后介绍了Bishop关于非饱和土的工作以及相变的Clapeyron方程，作为进一步讨论的基础。重点对寒区岩土工程有效应力公式进行了全面分析。分为两类，分别认为有效应力仅由土骨架承担和土骨架-冰系统共同承担。它们可能会生成可以有效解释实验或观察结果的计算结果，而两者都具有相当的推测性并面临重大挑战。针对寒区岩土工程，对未冻土有效应力的争议进行了分析。人们认识到，基于目前的认识，很难开发出基于机制的有效应力原理，而基于未冻土的有效应力原理则值得怀疑。提出了两种可能适用于寒冷地区岩土工程的潜在方法。