Challenges in facemasks use and potential solutions: The case study of Kenya.

The emergence of the novel Coronavirus has forced most governments across the world to enact stringent public laws to curb its transmission among the populations. The requirement to wear a facemask whenever in public places is one of such laws. As such, the demand for such masks has escalated across the world and this predisposition has presented a manufacturing challenge to the developing countries, which have limited capacity to meet the demand for their large populations. In developing countries such as Kenya, the citizens are now required to wear facemasks when in public places such as markets, streets, shopping malls, etc. With limited supply of the proper facemasks in the developing countries, the public is left to improvise them from the available resources. Alternatively, they purchase substandard facemasks from uncertified suppliers and sellers. The purchased masks do not meet the required health standards in most cases. In Kenya, for example, the government has been discouraging citizens from using N95 respirators and instead preserve them for medical practitioners due to their rarity and incapacity to manufacture them. The government has certified several textile industries to produce facemasks for the public from non-woven fabric materials. The challenge with such a move is that there has been an influx of an assortment of facemasks in the Kenyan market and it is not possible for the citizens to identify the safe ones. In this short communication, a brief description of the challenges facing the citizens in terms of access to and quality of face masks in developing countries, with a case study of Kenya is provided. Furthermore, a proposed design solution and a proof of concept of a low-cost and reusable 3D printed facemask for developing economies is herein presented. The adoption of such a design by the governments and manufacturers would solve the challenges of access and quality of the respirators to lower the transmissions of the Coronavirus.

Data on the effect of high-pressure torsion processing on secondary cast Al-10%Si- Cu piston alloy: Methods, microstructure and mechanical characterizations.

The dataset presented here shows the microstructure and mechanical properties of secondary (recycled) cast aluminum-silicon (Al-Si) piston alloys processed through severe plastic deformation technique, known as high-pressure torsion (HPT). The HPT processing was undertaken for 1/4, 1/2, 1 and 10 turns of the lower anvil (rotating at constant speed of 1rpm) while the upper anvil maintained at a normal pressure of 3.0 GPa. The data on microstructural evolution obtained at the central region and edge of the circular (disk) HPT sample were obtained using optical and scanning electron microscopy and these data are presented here. The data on the analysis of the particle shape, sizes and distribution from the micrographs using ImageJ software are also presented. Data on mechanical properties characterized using Vickers microhardness measurement across the surface of HPT sample are also shown. Pictures depicting the microhardness measurement scheme, high-pressure torsion facility and sample nomenclature are presented.