Ala'aldeen Al-Halhouli

• Professor
• Professor (Full) at German Jordanian University

This study aims to provide a Python-based modeling approach that thoroughly analyzes large-scale PV-Wind-based hydrogen production plants under two scenarios: net metering and islanded mode for PV, Wind, and PV-Wind Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES). A comprehensive techno-economic model was developed using Python, considering electrolyzer siz...

In this paper, we investigated the use of screen printing for the fabrication of a non-invasive wearable sensor, aimed at achieving accurate and continuous measurement of respiratory rate. The developed sensor was clinically evaluated on 15 healthy human participants, demonstrating its potential for point-of-care testing. Wearable sensors are emerg...

In recent years, microfluidic systems have emerged as promising tools for blood separation and analysis. However, conventional methods for prototyping microfluidic systems can be slow and expensive. In this study, we present a novel approach to rapid prototyping that combines femtosecond laser ablation and finite element method (FEM) simulation. Th...

Global warming associated with the greenhouse effect urge finding alternative energy strategies concerned with sustainable energy resources that are environmentally friendly and provide energy saving. Waste heat recovery engines are attracting devices that convert usually wasted energy to valuable mechanical or electrical energy. The current resear...

Infectious diseases possess a serious threat to the world’s population, economies, and healthcare systems. In this review, we cover the infectious diseases that are most likely to cause a pandemic according to the WHO (World Health Organization). The list includes COVID-19, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), Ebola Virus Disease (EBOV), Marburg...

The respiration rate (RR) is a vital sign in physiological measurement and clinical diagnosis. RR can be measured using stretchable and wearable strain gauge sensors which detect the respiratory movements in the abdomen or thorax areas caused by volumetric changes. In different body locations, the accuracy of RR detection might differ due to differ...

Introduction: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a progressive disease that causes long-term breathing problems. The reliable monitoring of respiratory rate (RR) is very important for the treatment and management of COPD. Based on inkjet printing technology, we have developed a stretchable and wearable sensor that can accurately measur...

The development and fabrication of stretchable printed electronics have been thoroughly investigated in several research studies; as they present an attractive solution for low-cost electronics. A special interest has been given to the implementation of these electronics in healthcare applications. This is due to their ability to sustain relatively...

The fabrication and testing of microfluidic spinning compact discs with embedded trapezoidal microchambers for the purpose of inertial microparticle focusing is reported in this article. Microparticle focusing channels require small features that cannot be easily fabricated in acrylic sheets and are complicated to realize in glass by traditional li...

The continuous emerging of microfluidic compact disc (CD) platforms for various real-life applications motivates researchers to explore new innovative ideas towards more integrated active functions. However, microfluidic CDs have some drawbacks, including the unidirectional flow that limits the usable space for multi-stepped biological and chemical...

Respiratory rate (RR) is a vital sign with continuous, convenient, and accurate measurement which is difficult and still under investigation. The present study investigates and evaluates a stretchable and wearable inkjet-printed strain gauge sensor (IJP) to estimate the RR continuously by detecting the respiratory volume change in the chest area. A...

Various mechanisms of different designs have emerged for the purpose of microparticle separation and cell sorting. The main goals behind such designs are to create high throughput and high purity sample isolation. In this study, high efficiency, high throughput and precise separation of microparticles under inertial lift and drag forces induced by...

Inkjet printing is an emerging technology with key advantages that make it suitable for the fabrication of stretchable circuits. Specifically, this process is cost-effective and less complex compared to conventional fabrication technologies. Inkjet printing has several process and geometry parameters that significantly affect the electromechanical...

The respiration rate (RR) is a key vital sign that links to adverse clinical outcomes and has various important uses. However, RR signals have been neglected in many clinical practices for several reasons and it is still difficult to develop low-cost RR sensors for accurate, automated, and continuous measurement. This study aims to fabricate, devel...

In this project, a microfluidic device for blood separation will be designed and tested in order to separate plasma from whole blood for diagnostic purposes. The design will be based on previously implemented designs that will be further discussed in the next sections. When designing microfluidic devices, it is essential to consider the different p...

There has been a great interest towards transungual delivery systems due to limited drug penetration for the treatment of nail diseases. More important, antifungal oral medicaments used may cause serious side effects including liver damage. Therefore, we propose non-oral dissolvable microneedle (MN) patch to strike the poor permeability of the nail...

In this work, manipulating width and equilibrium position of fluorescent microparticles in spiral microchannel fractionation devices by embedding microchambers along the last turn of a spiral is reported. Microchambers with different shapes and sizes were tested at Reynolds numbers between 15.7 and 156.6 (100-1000 μL min-1) to observe focusing of 2...

Nitrite and Nitrate have been used extensively as additives in various meat products to enhance flavor, color, and to preserve the meat from the bacterial growth. High concentrations of nitrite can threat human health since several studies in the literature claim that nitrite is associated with cancer incidences, leukemia, and brain tumors. Therefo...

Several research methodologies have recently been developed to allow for the patterning of conductive lines on elastomeric rubber substrates. Specifically, various conductive materials, substrates, and fabrication techniques were investigated to develop stretchable circuits. One promising technique recommends the application of axial strain on an e...

This paper introduces a cost-effective method for the fabrication of stretchable circuits on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using inkjet printing of silver nanoparticle ink. The fabrication method, presented here, allows for the development of fully stretchable and wearable sensors. Inkjet-printed sinusoidal and horseshoe patterns are experimentally c...

Microfluidic CDs (or Lab-on-Disc) continue to emerge in various applications of real life sciences, including biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. However, microfluidic CDs with advanced and efficient unit operation tools, such as pumping, valving, and mixing, need to be implemented to achieve the required applications in these fields. In this wor...

This paper describes the development of an artificial neural network that is able to predict simple human activities such as resting, walking, and running. A wearable sensor prototype that is able to measure a person's heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, body temperature and humidity was developed. Readings from the various sensors were used to tr...

The fabrication and testing of spiral microchannels with a trapezoidal cross section for the passive separation of microparticles is reported in this article. In contrast to previously reported fabrication methods, the fabrication of trapezoidal spiral channels in glass substrates using a femtosecond laser is reported for the first time in this pap...

Purpose: This review paper aims to introduce the inkjet printing as a tool for fabrication of flexible/wearable sensors. It summarizes inkjet printing techniques including various modes of operation, commonly used substrates and inks, commercially available inkjet printers and variables affecting the printing process. More focus is on the drop-on-d...

In this work, novel dual-motor spinning system is developed to efficiently enable performing challenging processes actively, i.e., pumping, mixing, and valving, on microfluidic compact disc (CD). The developed system is a second generation of already available spinning systems with new features and promises to overcome current CD systems challenges...

The diagnostics of health status and the quality of drinking water are among the most important United Nations sustainable development goals. However, in certain areas, wars and instability have left millions of people setting in refugee camps and dangerous regions where infrastructures are lacking and rapid diagnostics of water quality and medical...

This paper presents the development of a new design of the microfabricated centrifugal force pump. The pumping concept is based on running an impeller (a rotor including permanent magnets carrying straight and backward blades) within an integrated synchronous motor, which can be operated at different rotational speeds to pump water. The impeller is...

This paper presents the control design and performance evaluation of a novel meso-scale electromechanical fluid pump. Such pumps have the potential for applications in biomedical, chemical and pharmaceutical engineering fields. The pumping concept is based on reciprocating a hard magnet working as a double-acting piston in a circular channel, and s...

Particle/cell separation in heterogeneous mixtures including biological samples is a standard sample preparation step for various biomedical assays. A wide range of microfluidic-based methods have been proposed for particle/cell sorting and isolation. Two promising microfluidic platforms for this task are microfluidic chips and centrifugal microflu...

This study presents numerical and experimental investigations targeting enhancing the magnetic field flux magnitudes in electroplated copper microcoils. Improved designs are used in the development of a new generation of the electromagnetic-based synchronous micropump in order to enhance its performance (i.e. the maximum achievable output pressure...

This paper presents the employment of LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics as core component of low cost multidisciplinary platform for assisting elderly and visually impaired people. LEGO Mindstorms system offers a plug-and-play programmable robotics toolkit, incorporating construction guides, microcontrollers and sensors, all connected via a comprehensiv...

This paper presents the design and performance evaluation of a meso-scale electromechanical fluid pump. A prototype was designed and fabricated using Polycarbonate for the housings and controlled by sequential pulsing of channel piston and valve coils. The pumping concept is based on reciprocating a hard magnet acting as a piston in a circular chan...

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a continuous flow micropump system. The system comprises two single pneumatic micropumps connected in parallel and a fluidic capacitor. It has been made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Each of the pneumatic pumps features a pump chamber, a flexible membrane, and an air chamber. Th...

In electronic industry, dissipating the heat load becomes a critical factor for highly developed designs. These require higher power transfer in more compact size. In the current study, a new micro-cooling system was developed and tested. It utilizes the enhancement in heat transfer characteristics associated with implementing a vortex promoter in...

Energy harvesting replaces the traditional method of using batteries to power electronic devices and sensors. It makes them self-sufficient, autonomous, and long-living and requires lower maintenance costs. This paper presents a vibration based electromagnetic energy harvester. The experimental work in this paper investigates the harvester design p...

Unlabelled: In vitro studies of ocular bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) from colloidal drug delivery systems do not consider physiological shear stress generated by eyelid wiping and tear flow. The present study introduces a live cell imaging approach which enables the investigation of model drug uptake from various formu...

This paper presents the applicability of a microtechnologically fabricated microbubble column as a screening tool for submerged aerobic cultivation. Bubbles in the range of a few hundred micrometers in diameter were generated at the bottom of an upright-positioned microdevice. The rising bubbles induced the circulation of the liquid and thus enhanc...

This paper presents two PDMS photonic biosensor designs that can be used for continuous monitoring of glucose concentrations. The first design, the internally immobilized sensor, consists of a reactor chamber, micro-lenses and self-alignment structures for fiber optics positioning. This sensor design allows optical detection of glucose concentratio...

This paper introduces the synchronous micromotor concept and presents new investigations on its application as an integrated driving mechanism in microfluidic systems. A spiral channel viscous micropump and a microstirrer are considered and tested as examples to verify the concept. The fabrication technology of such integrated systems is based on U...

This work aims at simulating and optimizing the magnetic field intensity in different electroplated copper micro-coil designs that can be integrated in a recently developed electromagnetic micro-pump. The results of this study will be used in fabricating new optimized micro-coil designs that may enhance the performance of the developed synchronous...

High precision microactuators have become key elements for many applications of MEMS, for example for positioning and handling systems as well as for microfluidic devices. Electromagnetic microactuators exhibit considerable benefits such as high forces, large deflections, low input impedances and thus, the involvement of only low voltages. Most of...

This paper presents a vertically positioned microfluidic system made of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and glass, which can be applied as a microbubble column (μBC) for biotechnological screening in suspension. In this μBC, microbubbles are produced in a cultivation chamber through an integrated nozzle structure. Thus, homogeneous suspension of biom...

In this paper, the concept, fabrication, activation and testing of a novel synchronous micropump based on microfabricated copper coils and polymer magnets are presented. The pump works by the synchronized rotation of two polymer magnets in an annular SU-8 microfluidic channel. Magnet rotation is achieved by sequentially activating a set of planar c...

This paper presents the concept, fabrication and testing of a novel gentle micropump pump driven by an integrated microfabricated electromagnetic mechanism. The pump fabrication technology is based on UV depth lithography and electroplating. In addition, special microcomposites are used to prepare microfabricated polymer magnets (pistons) in the de...

The extracellular pH monitoring on culture media is indicative of the metabolic activity of the cells. However, their precise determination is commonly limited by the presence of cells that interfere on the measurement. A biophotonic lab-on-a-chip (bioPhLoC) for the accurate monitoring of the extracellular medium pH without interference of attached...

The article presents analytical and numerical computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of the flow performance in a newly introduced ferrofluidic magnetic micropump, with the purpose of estimating the stress distribution in its flow field. Analytical expressions were developed for the shear stress generated at the upper and lower walls of the...

This work introduces a novel electromagnetic pumping concept that depends on rotating two hard magnets placed in an annular channel in opposing polarity through simultaneous energization of a set of solenoids. The magnetic field in each winding is energized to move one magnet (pumping) while the other is attracted between the inlet and the outlet p...

In this work, the concept of recently introduced electromagnetic pump has been presented. This pump has been proposed for pumping biomedical fluids carrying particles sensitive to shear stresses. Its working concept depends on controlling the rotation of two pistons placed in a circular channel in opposing polarity under the influence of a moving e...

In this work, analytical and numerical investigations for the effect of geometrical parameters (channel aspect ratio and radius ratio) on the friction factor in liquid flow in curved microchannels have been performed. The momentum equation in polar coordinates is first solved to estimate the effect of channel radius ratio in the liquid flow in circ...

An experimental test loop system was designed, developed, and constructed to study the two-phase flow field. Horizontally oriented inlet and branches piping system, with sharp edge T-junction, at a system pressure of 1 bar was investigated. Measurements of air and water mass flow rates and temperatures in slug flow regime with variable inlet mass f...

This work presents numerical study on the feasibility of implementing a newly introduced electromagnetic pump for mixing fluids in microscales. It also introduces an interesting energization scheme that can be used to adjust the mixing length until obtaining complete mixing. The electromagnetic gentle pump was proposed for biomedical applications....

This work surveys recent advances of experimental and analytical development progress of the on-disk viscous micropumps: spiral channel, single disk, and double disk micropumps. These micropumps have attractive advantages for handling particle-laden fluids which make them key components in iaboratory-on-a-chip applications. This study builds upon e...

This work introduces a novel electromagnetic pump (EMP) that depends on rotating two hard magnets placed in an annular channel in opposing polarity through simultaneous energization of a set of solenoids. The magnetic field in each winding is energized to move one magnet (pumping) while the other is attracted between the inlet and the outlet ports...

This work reports on diverse technologies implemented for fabricating microfluidic devices such as biomedical micro sensors, micro pumps, bioreactors and micro separators. UV depth lithography and soft lithography were applied in the fabrication processes using different materials, for example SU-8, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), silicon, glass and c...

An experimental test loop system was designed, developed, and constructed to study the two-phase flow field in the undergraduate fluid mechanics laboratory. The purpose of this experimental apparatus is to measure the pressure drop of a two-phase mixture in a tee-junction. This paper describes a fluid mechanics experiment designed for undergraduate...

In this work, quasi-static and dynamic tests for the mechanical properties of SU-8 using a nanomechanical triboindenter were performed. Load–displacement data for the indenter as it is driven into and withdrawn from the photoresist patterns are reported. Berkovich-shaped indenter was used in the experimental measurements of the following mechanical...

This work describes the development and testing of a miniature spiral-channel viscous pump. The pump consists of a 12mm diameter spiral disk on which a spiral-channel is machined with heights of 1 or 2mm, a width of 1mm and a spiral length (angular span) of 2.5π or 3.5π. The spiral-channel forms a fluid passage through which fluid is dragged due to...

In this work, the influence of viscous heating on the flow performance of a spiral-channel viscous micropump was investigated numerically using finite volume method (FVM). A number of 3D models for the spiral-channel micropump boundary conditions and using different working fluids (Glycerin, and water) were built and analyzed by considering the cha...

This paper investigates the effect of spiral curvature on the flow field within a newly introduced spiral channel viscous micropump. Increasing the spiral curvature increases the angle between the channel axis and the direction of upper plate motion, and more fluid is dragged normal to the axis of the channel, which changes the flow characteristics...

This paper investigates the effect of radius ratio, and channel aspect ratio on the flow performance of newly introduced single and double disk viscous micropumps. A lubrication solution for the flow field, which accounts for both radius and channel aspect ratios either in single or double disk micropumps was developed and compared with available e...

Spiral channel viscous micropump (Spiral CVMP) idea depends on dragging the fluid along a spiral channel either by rotating the spiral channel disk against a stationary flat disk or rotating the flat disk against the spiral channel. A net tangential viscous stress on the boundaries is built and produces a positive pressure gradient in the direction...

The paper investigates the effect of channel aspect ratio on the flow performance of a newly introduced spiral-channel viscous micropump. An approximate 2D analytical solution for the flow field, which ignores channel curvature but accounts for a finite wall height, is first developed at the lubrication limit. A number of 3D models for spiral pumps...

The effect of design parameters such as radius ratio and channel aspect ratio on the flow performance of a newly introduced single disk viscous micropump has been investigated. A number of 3D numerical models for the single disk micropump have been built and analyzed at different boundary conditions using finite volume method. To express the effect...

This work introduces the concept of a new electromagnetic micropump that depends on rotating two hard polymer magnets in an annular channel through simultaneous energization of a set of microfabricated copper coils. The magnetic field in microcoils is controlled to move one magnet while the other is attracted between the inlet and the outlet ports....

This work presents a novel electromagnetic actuation concept that aims at the conversion of electromagnetic force into fluid power to enable gentle handling of biomedical fluids through circular microchannel. This concept is tested successfully on a mesoscale model and showed attractive concept suitable for microfluidic applications. In microtechno...