Fuel cells offer an alternative, clean, reliable source of energy for residential use, transport and remote communities. Fuel cell efficiency is dependent on the internal structure of the fuel cell layers and the interfaces between them. Using both optical and electron microscopy, high quality images of the cross-sections of fuel cells can be recorded across a range of magnifications. The efficiency of the fuel cell can then be inferred from careful analysis of the macroscopic- and microscopic-level features of these images. For example, macroscopic-level information can be used to determine gas permeation of the electrode materials and atomic-level information about the electrode's internal interface structure provides data on the efficiency of exchange reactions.

Data exploration allows viewing time-based and static presentations. A presentation gives a convenient way of viewing a set of data retrieved as a result of a user query. A preparation step involves choosing a parameter for ordering the sequence of data and selecting parameters which are to be displayed. Additional options in the presentation settings include the possibility to see a graph synchronized with corresponding images of fuel cells and other options such as timed and fading effects.

Hypothesis testing allows researchers to generate and verify their hypotheses. The interface provides an easy way of formulating hypotheses. An outcome screen shows a hypothesis statement and a set of graphs underneath that depicts dependences between parameters specified in the hypothesis.

If you are unable to see the graph near this text then your browser doesn't currently support viewing SVG elements. Go here to find a list of viewers and browser plugins. You can still use this site, however the graphs generated from the data won't be viewable. The time-based presentations generated by this application and constructed using HTML+TIME which can be viewed using Internet Explorer version 5.5 or higher.

This demonstration was developed by Katya Falkovych and Suzanne Little while Katya was a visiting student at DSTC. Details can be found in:
Jane Hunter, Katya Falkovych, and Suzanne Little. Next Generation Search Interfaces - Interactive Data Exploration and Hypothesis Testing 8th European Digital Libraries Conference. Bath, UK. September 2004.