Computation and analysis of the extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields generated by two designs of 400 kV overhead transmission lines

The overhead transmission lines are considered one of the major sources of electric and magnetic fields, which can induce electrical currents within the human body. In this study, the electric and magnetic fields generated by two recent designs of 400 kV transmission lines used in the Romanian power system are computed and compared to the exposure limits established by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection for the general public. The computations are carried out with two dedicated software tools, called PowerMag and PowerELT, which have been developed based on a 2D quasi-static analytical approach. This approach, as well as the electric and magnetic field distributions obtained for the considered 400 kV overhead transmission lines, will be discussed in detail. To confirm the validity of the results, some comparisons to finite element computations will also be presented.