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Volume 15 (2); June 2025
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Research Paper
Erosion Susceptibility Mapping for Owena River Basin, Nigeria
Obiora-Okeke OA.
J. Civil Eng. Urban., 15(2): 65-76, 2025; pii:S225204302500005-15
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.54203/jceu.2025.5
Abstract
Erosion susceptibility studies on a basin scale is critical to integrated water resources planning of a river basin. Rapid urbanization, uncontrolled deforestation and overgrazing have made these studies even more important for development of strategies for soil conservation and land management in river basins. In this study, maps were developed to describe the spatial susceptibility to soil erosion within the Owena River basin using the RUSLE model. The parameters of the model include rainfall erosivity factor, soil erodibility factor, slope steepness and length factor, cover management factor and support practice factor. Rainfall erosivity was high in the southern and coastal parts of the river basin (RB) but had little erosion severity impact due to low slope steepness and length factor, and low cover management factor that characterized most of the RB. These low values were due to the flat topography of the basin and that 89% of the basin is of dense vegetation landscape. The soil erodibility range for the RB was low to moderate. The predominant soil erosion rate estimated was 0 – 10 ton/ha/yr and it covered 97% of the RB. This range implies that soil loss due to water erosion in the basin was low to moderate. However, low to moderate soil erosion susceptibility degrades agricultural topsoil in long-term, underscoring the need for sustainable land use and agricultural practices. High to severe erosion rates affected 1, 646 hectares of the RB and was mostly in grass lands and urban areas of the RB. This is attributed to rapid urbanization, which increased runoff and its erosive force, and overgrazed grasslands, which are more vulnerable to erosion due to vegetation loss. The annual soil loss for the whole RB is 5.5 tons/ha/yr while the total the annual soil loss from the RB was calculated as 38, 316 tons. This study has provided important information on parts of the RB needing targeted soil conservation and land management applications.
Keywords: Erosion susceptibility, Annual soil loss, RUSLE, Land use and Land cover, Soil conservation
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Review
A Comprehensive Review on Ultra-High Performance Concrete: Composition, Properties, and Applications
Karimi T.
J. Civil Eng. Urban., 15(2): 77-111, 2025; pii:S225204302500006-15
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.54203/jceu.2025.6
Abstract
Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) has emerged as a leading construction material across diverse engineering applications due to its exceptional mechanical properties and durability that exceed those of conventional concrete. This comprehensive review explores UHPC’s material composition, production additives, behavior in both fresh and hardened states, and environmental durability characteristics. The low water-to-cement ratio combined with a high binder content and the use of superplasticizers result in a densely compacted microstructure, substantially enhancing UHPC’s strength. Pozzolanic additives—including silica fume (SF), metakaolin (MK), fly ash (FA), and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS)—contribute to reduced cement consumption while improving long-term durability by enhancing permeability resistance, sulfate attack mitigation, and chloride ion durability. The integration of nanomaterials such as nano-silica (NS), carbon nanotubes (CNT), and graphene oxide (GO) increases the reactive surface area within the matrix, leading to a more uniform and denser microstructure. Fiber reinforcements—comprising steel, synthetic, glass, or hybrid fibers—impart ductility to UHPC, significantly boosting tensile and flexural strengths as well as energy absorption capacity, complementing its notable compressive strength. Fresh-state properties such as consistency, slump, and flowability are critical for manufacturability and application quality, with optimized mixtures delivering superior structural performance in terms of impact resistance, fatigue durability, and fracture mechanics. Additionally, UHPC demonstrates outstanding resistance to freeze-thaw cycles, sulfate and acid attacks, and chloride ingress, making it highly suitable for infrastructure exposed to aggressive environments. This review synthesizes the current understanding of UHPC’s technical advancements and multifaceted benefits, positioning it as a next-generation sustainable construction material that meets the demanding requirements of modern infrastructure.
Keywords: Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC), Mechanical properties, Durability, Seismic performance, Fiber reinforcement, Sustainability.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)