Modelling the Human Body Exposure to ELF Electric Fields

The objective of this book is to describe techniques to investigate the behaviour of electric fields and induced currents in the human body exposed to different scenarios of extremely low frequency (ELF) high voltage–low current electromagnetic fields by means of numerical modelling with improved Boundary Element Methods (BEM).

A novel improved BEM approach is introduced in order to solve this type of problem, leading to more accurate results and more efficient calculations. The mathematical formulation for the case of human exposure to ELF electromagnetic fields departing from Maxwell equations and for the electrical properties of biological tissue is provided. Also, a variety of three dimensional anatomically shaped human body models under different exposure conditions are presented and solved.

This developed methodology is applied to three different case studies:

(i) Overhead power transmission lines

(ii) Power substation rooms

(iii) Pregnant woman including foetus and evolving scenarios

In all cases, a sensitivity analysis investigating the influence of varying geometrical and electrical properties of the tissues has been conducted. The results obtained from this research allow us to identify situations of high and low exposure in the different parts of the body and to compare with existing exposure guidelines.

Andres Peratta

Andres Peratta received his MSc in Physics in 2001 from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and his PhD in 2004 from the Wessex Institute of Technology (WIT) - University of Wales, UK. During 2005 he was a Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer at the Wessex Institute of Technology, Southampton, UK, and became a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Communications, Software and Systems (JCOMSS) sponsored by the IEEE and SoftCom Society.

In 2006 he became Head of the ICE Division at Wessex Institute of Technology and ISAC member of the WIT International Conferences on Environmental Electromagnetic Compatibility, Simulation of Electrochemical Processes, and Computational Ballistics.

Andres has been author or co-author of more than 40 specialized publications in international peer-reviewed journals and transactions. His research interests are Numerical Modelling including Boundary and Finite Element methods for Electromagnetic Fields, Fluid Dynamics and Continuum Mechanics. He has participated in several internationally funded research projects involving modelling of fluid flow in porous media, corrosion, cathodic protection systems and electrochemical processes, as well as electromagnetic modelling in biological tissues.

Cristina Peratta

Cristina Peratta completed her MSc in Physics in 1996 from the University of Buenos Aires (Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences), Argentina and her PhD in 2008 from the Wessex Institute of Technology- University of Wales, UK. Her background is in Numerical Modelling applied to Electromagnetic problems. She developed her thesis at the Plasma Physics Institute, (INFIP), University of Buenos Aires-CONICET, Argentina, in numerical modeling applied to Nuclear Fusion in Z-pinch experiments.

In December 2007 Cristina was employed by BEASY, where she has been applying her knowledge and the BEASY software to specific customer consultancy and development projects, primarily in the field of corrosion simulation. Cristina has been author or co-author of more than 15 specialized publications in international peer-reviewed journals and transactions. Her research interests are oriented to numerical modeling of electromagnetic fields, boundary and finite element methods, corrosion, cathodic protection systems and electrochemical processes, as well as electromagnetic modeling in biological tissues.

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Modelling the Human Body Exposure to ELF Electric Fields

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