Author(s)

D. Poljak, N. Kovač, S. Kraljević & C. A. Brebbia

Abstract

This paper deals with human exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) electric fields generated by a transformer substation. The problem is twofold, i.e. it implies the assessment of the power substation electric field and the related current density induced inside the human body. The ELF electric field generated from a power substation is determined by solving the Scalar Potential Integral Equation (SPIE) using the Source Element Method (SEM), a variant of the Indirect Boundary Element Method (IBEM). Knowing the electric field in the vicinity of a substation the current density induced inside a simplified cylindrical model of the human body is obtained by solving the Pocklington integrodifferential equation using the Galerkin-Bubnov Indirect Boundary Element Method (GB-IBEM). 1 Introduction Human exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) fields generated by power substations initiated an increasing public concern regarding possible adverse health effects. A lot of controversy has been caused due to the possible link between the low frequency fields and leukaemia, or certain forms of tumour (e.g. nervous tissue tumour) [1–3] in humans. As the displacement currents at extremely low frequencies are negligible the electric and magnetic fields can be analyzed separately. In the case of the magnetic field exposure the internal currents form close loops, while in the electric field exposure the currents induced in the body have the axial character.

Keywords