Electromagnetic exposure safety assessment of welding cables during welding

In this study, we adopted the ANSYS software to simulate the work environment and used a model to simulate the influence of radiation on the human body during welding. We perform on-site measurement of the magnetic field generated by the welding machine of a similar one. By comparing the simulation results of the magnetic flux density with the measurement results, it is concluded that the error between them is less than 10%. Then, we compare the results with the occupational exposure limit of this frequency band proposed by the International Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)-100 μT for quantitative analysis. The results indicate that when the welding power source outputs a high current (500 A) and the welding cable is near the human body, the magnetic flux density generated inside the human body reaches the experimental peak. Consequently, the maximum magnetic flux density generated by the cable on the waist, wrist, and other body parts is 63.36 μT, accounting for the ICNIRP standard of 63.36%. Hence, the magnetic field generated by the welding cable does not pose a health risk to the practitioner. When the output current of the welding cable is reduced to 400A, 200A, and 100 A, respectively, the generated magnetic flux density accounts for 50%, 21%, and 11% of the ICNIRP standard. Additionally, when the distance between the welding cable and human body increased to 0.1 m, these values become 13%, 5%, and 2.6%. This demonstrates that during the welding process, the change of output current has an effect on the distribution of the magnetic field generated by the welding cable. Moreover, the magnetic flux density is directly proportional to the magnitude of the current, and the distance from the welding cable determines the magnitude of the magnetic field strength at that location when a similar output current is generated, which is inversely related to the distance. (authors)