ABUBAKAR ALIYU2023-09-222023-09-22https://teras.ng/api/asset/document/b792e740-e2b7-44da-844d-95c8938ce6eehttps://teras.ng/catalog-item/a9fc874c-1808-47b9-8d99-e442960cd602http://dspace.teras-network.net:4000/handle/123456789/32908Natural fibres reinforced polymer composite plays a vital role in the fuel efficiency and gas emission regulations of passengers’ cars. One way to increase the fuel efficiency without compromising safety is to employ fibre reinforced composite materials in the body of the car so that weight reduction can be achieved. This study has developed and characterized a composite material using waste newspaper particulate (WNP) as reinforcement and unsaturated polyester as matrix. The mechanical, water absorption and tribological properties of the developed material were determined. The mechanical properties tested for were tensile, compressive, flexural, hardness and impact strength. Tensile properties of the material were observed to increase as the percentage of filler reinforcement increased with maximum tensile strength and modulus of 35.7MPa and 0.2298GPa respectively at 20wt% reinforcement. Determined compressive strength, hardness value and impact strength were 107.26MPa, 44.57HRF and 3.79kJ/m2 respectively at 15wt% reinforcement. Flexural strength was observed to be decreased with increased percentage of filler reinforcement due to the increase in brittleness of the material as filler reinforcement was increased. Depth of penetration was determined to decrease as the fibre loading was increased, while there was an increase in the percentage of water absorbed by the material as the filler loading percentage and immersion time were increased. The maximum percentage of water absorbed was 0.8285 at 25wt% after 192hours of immersion in water. Thermal analysis conducted showed the materials’ conductivity to increase when the percentage of the reinforcement was increased. The storage modulus (E ́), loss modulus (E ́ ́) and damping factor were determined using Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) and observed to be maximum at 20wt% reinforcement with maximum values of 4000MPa, 388MPa and 0.555 respectively at about a temperature of 130oC. SEM results showed a good interfacial bonding between the matrix and reinforcement mostly at lower filler percentage explaining the reasons for better properties shown by the material at those percentages. XRF and FTIR analysis were conducted, and the result showed newspaper to contain –OH, C=C=C, N-O and C-O functional groups. The developed composite material had best results at 15 – 20wt% reinforcement which suggest the percentage of reinforcement for optimum service condition.Post Graduate Theses