The study investigated the changes in soil properties as a function bagasse ash proportion during soil stabilization. Addition of bagasse ash in soil during stabilization is carried out to improve the properties of soil susceptible to deformation under load effect. The bagasse ash was obtained from Costus cupreifolius mass. The experimental values obtained from maximum dry density (MDD), optimum moisture content (OMC), consistency limits, California bearing ratio (CBR) and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) were fitted to a linear model to ascertain the degree of correlation between the properties and the percentage of bagasse ash. Experimental results showed that bagasse ash improved the properties of the soil positively. Thus, the maximum dry density, optimum moisture content, and the consistency limits of the stabilized soil reduced with addition of bagasse ash, while the California bearing ratio and unconfined compressive strength of the soil were increased. The model also interpreted the fitted experimental observations with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.7501 to 0.9792. Therefore, using a mathematical model will be useful to predict the properties of soil for a given mix design without direct measurement, especially in the case where the instrument is prone to error. Application of model would also be useful for design and analysis.

This research article presents a numerical simulation of the extensive severe cyclonic storm Fani and its impact along the coast of Bangladesh, which made landfall in the coastal region of Odisha, India, on May 3, 2019. A semi-implicit finite difference method in Cartesian coordinates was employed in this study to solve vertically integrated shallow water equations. The approach allowed for effective forecasting of the storm Fani's impact on the region of choice. Our considered physical domain is discretized with high-resolution gird to cover all the big and small offshore islands. The model predicted water levels for a total of sixteen coastal stations of the Bay of Bengal along the coast of Bangladesh (from 2 May to 03 May 2019, at 3-h interval). Simulated water levels are found closely co-related to the reported data. The simulation results demonstrate that the semi-implicit finite difference method is an effective tool for simulating the storm surge and flooding caused by any severe cyclonic storm. The study also shows that the storm surge and flooding caused by Fani were significant, with a maximum surge height of over 5 meters in some areas. The simulated results provide insights into the spatial and temporal evolution of the storm surge and flooding, which can be useful for designing and implementing appropriate disaster management strategies in the affected regions. Overall, this research article contributes to the scientific understanding of the behavior of severe cyclonic storms and the associated storm surge and flooding, and provides a valuable tool for policymakers and stakeholders to develop and implement effective disaster management strategies in cyclone vulnerable coastal regions.

Comparative economic analysis using present net worth method was carried for 1 km of rigid and flexible pavement of Isieke Road, Ebonyi State. Information on the initial construction cost of the given length of the road, the maintenance cost, the rehabilitation cost, the salvage cost and the user cost which were obtained from the Ministry of Works, Ebonyi State, were used to assess the life cycle cost of the each alternative using the present net worth method. Comparisons between the various costs used to determine the life cycle cost for both rigid and flexible pavement showed that except the initial cost of construction where the rigid pavement is considerably higher than the flexible pavement, the other costs show the flexible pavement being on the high side. The summary cost showed that the for the period of 40 years which was the period of study in this work, the life cycle cost (LCC) of rigid pavement is 8.52% lower than that of the flexible pavement. Considering economy, this savings in LCC makes it a more viable alternative to flexible pavement.