Affiliation: School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University
Title: Associate Professor
Email: shenyx17@nwu.edu.cn
Research Interests: Conservation Technology for Earthen Sites and Rock-cut Temples; Preventive Conservation; Mechanism of Salt Weathering and Its Mitigation.
Address: No. 1 Xuefu Avenue, Chang’an District, Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province

Education and Professional Experience

Research Projects

1. Project of the National Archaeological Talent Promotion Program: Research on Key Technologies for the Conservation of Archaeological Site Profiles under Multi-Field Coupling Conditions. Jan 2025 – Dec 2029. Key Member.

2. Young Scientist Fund Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China: Mechanism of Na₂SO₄-NaCl Salt Weathering of Rammed Earth Sites Based on Large-Scale Simulation Tests (41807236). Jan 2019 – Dec 2021. Principal Investigator.

3. Special Project of the National Key Research and Development Program of China: Vegetation Cover and Snow Accumulation – Application and Demonstration at the Site of Xanadu, Inner Mongolia (2023YFF0905904-5). Nov 2023 – Nov 2026. Principal Investigator.

4. Special Project of the National Key Research and Development Program of China: Systematic Solutions for Monitoring and Early Warning Systems for Earthen Sites (2019YFC1520904-7). Jan 2020 – Jun 2023. Principal Investigator.

5. Special Project of the National Key Research and Development Program of China: Tracing the Origin and Predictive Modeling of Surface Weathering Damage on Earthen Sites (2019YFC1520905-4). Jan 2020 – Jun 2023. Principal Investigator.

6. Cultural Heritage Scientific Research Project, National Cultural Heritage Administration: Study on the Microscopic Mechanism of Freeze-Thaw Powdering of Sandstone Carvings at the Shimao Site under Water-Salt Coupling (2023ZCK030). Apr 2024 – Apr 2026. Principal Investigator.

7. Key Project, Education Department of Shaanxi Provincial Government: Study on the Phase Transition Characteristics of Na₂SO₄-NaCl Mixed Salts in Soil from the Shaanxi Ming Great Wall Site (19JS067). Aug 2019 – Dec 2024. Principal Investigator.

8. Open Project, Shaanxi Provincial Research Center for the Conservation of Cave Temples: Study on Influencing Factors of Salt Weathering in Shaanxi Sandstone Grottoes. Jan 2022 – Dec 2023. Principal Investigator.

9. Project of Gansu Provincial Major Science and Technology Program: Research, Development, and Application Demonstration of Anti-weathering Technologies for Sandstone Grotto Temples (18ZD2FA001). Nov 2018 – Jun 2023. Participant (Rank: 2).

10. Survey and Design Project for Cultural Heritage Conservation Engineering, National Cultural Heritage Administration: The “1+6” Plan Formulation Project for Arjai Grottoes — Environmental Improvement Project for Arjai Grottoes. Oct 2021 – Dec 2024. Participant (Rank: 2).

11. Survey and Design Project for Cultural Heritage Conservation Engineering, National Cultural Heritage Administration: Research Project on the Deterioration Mechanism and Preventive Conservation Technology of Rammed Earth at the Liangzhu Site. May 2022 – Dec 2024. Participant (Rank: 3).

Representative Publications

1. Chuxin Liang, Ruijing Liu, Yunxia Shen*, et al. (2025). Study on the influence of cooling rate on the freeze-thaw deterioration characteristics of salt-contaminated earthen site[J]. npj Heritage Science, 13(105):1-11. (Corresponding Author, SCI, Q1)

2. Yunxia Shen, Chuxin Liang, Michael Steiger, et al. (2024). Quantitative analysis on the impact factors of salt weathering for sandstone grottoes along Silk Road, China[J]. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 67: 522-533. (SCI, Q2)

3. Yunxia Shen, Kirsten Linnow, and Michael Steiger. (2020). Crystallization behavior and damage potential of Na₂SO₄–NaCl mixtures in porous building materials[J]. Crystal Growth & Design, 20(9): 5974-5985. (SCI, Q2)

4. Yunxia Shen, Wenwu Chen, Jing Kuang, Weifei Du. (2017). The effect of salts on earthen materials deterioration after humidity cycling[J]. Journal of Central South University, 24(4): 796-806. (SCI, Q3)

5. Manli Sun, Kai Deng, Yunxia Shen*, et al. (2025). The application and prospect of digital intelligence technology in the proactive conservation of heritage preservation[J]. Journal of Northwest University (Natural Science Edition), 55(1): 23–35. (Corresponding Author, Core Journal)

6. Manli Sun, Zhangzhe Cao, Yunxia Shen*, et al. (2024). Study on the regional characteristics of sandstone grotto deterioration in the Longdong area[J]. Sciences of Conservation and Archaeology, 36(6): 149–162. (Corresponding Author, Core Journal)

7. Manli Sun, Chuxin Liang, Yunxia Shen*, et al. (2022). Characteristics of salt damage to sandstone grottoes in Northwest China and contributing factors[J]. Journal of Earth Environment, 13(5): 543–556. (Corresponding Author, Core Journal)

8. Manli Sun, Xuanqing Liu, Zhangzhe Cao, Xuejian Shang, Junlin Liu, Yunxia Shen*. (2021). The regional characteristics of surface weathering of sandstone grottoes in Gansu Province[J]. Journal of Northwest University (Natural Science Edition), 51(3): 333–343. (Corresponding Author, Core Journal)

9. Yunxia Shen, Wenwu Chen, et al. (2011). Testing study on influence of salt contents on shear strength of ancient relics soil at dry-wet cycle [J]. Northwestern Seismological Journal, 33(S1): 227–230. (Core Journal)

Patents

1. Yunxia Shen, Wenwu Chen, Jingke Zhang, et al. (2016). An Experimental Device for Wetting Soil Samples with Soluble Salt Test Solution. [ZL 2016 2 0696245.7].

2. Yunxia Shen, Kai Deng, Weijia Mao. (2023). A Simulation Test Device for Rain Erosion of Earthen Sites. [ZL 2021 2 2608223.4].

Awards

1. First Prize for National Teaching Achievement: From Filling the Gap to Leading the Field: The Creation and Practice of China’s Cultural Heritage Conservation Talent Cultivation System. July 2023. (14/14)

2. First Prize, Gansu Provincial Science and Technology Award: Deterioration Mechanism and Conservation Technology of Rammed Earth Sites Based on Scientific Understanding of Traditional Techniques. July 2023. (13/15)

3. Special Prize, Shaanxi Provincial Higher Education Teaching Achievement Award: 30 Years of Groundbreaking Efforts to Create a First-Class Domestic Cultural Heritage Conservation Talent Cultivation System. December 2019. (10/10)