Development of a technique to evaluate human exposure to ion-current fields using boundary element method - for environmental assessment of high voltage transmission lines

To study the biological effects of the ion-current commonly found under ultra-high voltage DC transmission lines, a technique was developed to evaluate the human exposure to the ion-current field. This technique is based on numerical analysis using the boundary element method. The difficulty of handling the space charge in the calculation was overcome by assuming a lumped source ion-current. This technique is applicable to a three-dimensionally complex object such as a human body. In comparison with theoretical values, the accuracy of this technique was evaluated to be satisfactory for our purposes. It was then applied to a human body in an ion-current field. The distribution of the electric field along the body surface was obtained. The general characteristics of the field distribution were essentially the same as in those without space charges. However, it was found that the strength of the field concentration was significantly enhanced by the space charges. Further, the field exposure when a human body was charged by an ion-current was evaluated. As the charged voltage increases, the position of the field concentration moves from a human's head toward his legs. But the shock of micro spark increases. This technique provides a useful tool for the study of biological effects and safety standards of ion-current fields.