The utilization of counterfeit and substandard building materials for residential building construction had become a major concern, due to the hazards the occupants of those buildings are being subjected to. This research was carried out to appraise the quality of electrical wires used for residential building wiring in Delta State, Nigeria, and to also investigate the reasons why property developers still use these substandard materials despite the glaring negative consequences. Three commonly used electrical wire sizes (1.5, 2.5 and 4 mm2) for residential building electrical wiring were randomly selected within the Delta state, and their electrical properties (electrical resistance and electrical resistivity) and mechanical properties (area, tensile strength, and tensile strain) were determined following the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE 400), Nigeria Industrial Standard (NIS), and America Standard Testing Material (ASTM) International recommended procedures; also, well-structured questionnaires were administered to four groups of respondents. The findings indicated that the mechanical and electrical properties of most electrical wires, used for residential building wiring in Delta State failed to meet NIS standards. Across the five sampling locations, the mean electrical resistivity of the 1.5 mm2 wire ranged between 2.04±0.07x10-7 and 2.09±0.08x10-7 Ωmm, while the 2.5 mm2 wire's mean electrical resistivity varied from 1.90±0.06x10-7 to 1.97±0.13 x10-7 Ωmm, and the 4 mm2 wire’s mean electrical resistivity varied from 1.75±0.08 x10-7 to 1.87±0.06 x10-7 Ωmm. Also, across the five sampling locations, the mean tensile strength of the 1.5 mm2 wire ranged between 144.1 and 163.3 MPa, while the 2.5 mm2 wire's mean tensile strength varied from 163.2 to 177.4 MPa, and the 4 mm2 wire’s mean tensile strength varied from 169.4±20.6 to 185.4±17.2 MPa. Furthermore, the analysis of variance indicated that sampling location had no significant effect on the wires' mechanical and electrical properties (p≤0.05); portraying that this fraudulent practice is widespread across the state. The analysis of the questionnaire results confirmed that financial constraints and inappropriate actions of many building contractors were the major contributing factors to the utilization of substandard wires for residential building wiring in Nigeria. Based on this study's findings, it is recommended that standard regulatory agencies should step up their efforts against substandard building materials, to avoid its impending danger in Nigeria.
This paper reported on the possibility of using organic materials in the production of green epoxy conductive composites. Epoxy composite samples were produced through the hybridization of carbonized coconut fibre filler (CCS), raffia palm fibre (RPF), carbon black (CB), and carbon fibre (CF), using the simple hand lay-up technique. Then the electrical properties (electrical resistivity and electrical conductivity) and the mechanical properties (tensile strength) of the composite samples were tested accordingly, using the ASTM D6343 – 14, ASTM B193 and ASTM D 3039 approved methods. Results obtained from the laboratory tests revealed that both the CCS and RPF (organic materials) have significant influence on the mechanical and electrical properties of the composite samples. It was observed that the electrical conductivity of the composite samples increased (4.34x10-3 S/cm to 4.48x10-3 S/cm) as the CCS loading increased from 3% to 6% (by mass); before it started to decline after 9% (by mass) CCS loading, recording lowest conductivity of 9x10-4 S/cm at 15% CCS volume. The electrical resistivity of the composite samples was noted to decline from 2.90x107 Ωcm to 2.83x107 Ωcm as the CCS content in the composite increased from 3% to 6%, before it started to increase after 9% CCS quantity, with the S5 composite sample (15% CCS quantity) having the highest electrical resistivity of 3.80x107 Ωcm. Regarding the composite’s mechanical properties, the study depicted that the S1 composite sample had the highest tensile strength of 98.3 MPa, while the S5 composite developed the lowest tensile strength of 62.7 MPa, portraying that the CCS and RAF has a substantial effect on the composites samples’ tensile strength. This study’s results portrayed the possibility of producing lightweight, high-tensile strength conductive composite from organic waste materials, which can be utilized in several engineering applications.
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