A simplified procedure for dosimetric evaluations on ELF sources with complex waveforms

The endorsement of the 2004/40 European Directive has renewed the interest in numerical electromagnetic dosimetry. In this field, a need is clearly perceived for dosimetric approaches able to reduce costs and the time necessary for this type of evaluations. In the low and intermediate frequency ranges, EM dosimetry makes use of quasi-static techniques in the frequency domain, which become onerous when dealing with sources emitting multiple frequencies. A procedure is then proposed, able to greatly simplify the numerical process needed to perform a dosimetric calculation involving a complex waveform. The procedure is based on the use of an 'equivalent' field intensity at an arbitrarily chosen 'reference' frequency and allows executing a single-frequency dosimetric evaluation able to take into account, with some approximations, the complete spectral contents of the source signal. (authors)