Calculation of electrostatically induced steady-state current flowing through human body near a tree under power transmission lines

Abstract

Trees under power transmission lines effectively shield the human body from electric field exposure. We numerically analyze the electrostatically induced steady-state current that flows through the human body near a tree under three-phase transmission lines and quantitatively investigate the reduction ratio (RR) of the induced current owing to the tree. Stochastic tree models that consider the detailed shapes of branches and leaves are created by controlling the growth direction of the branches using random numbers. Moreover, we create simple-shaped tree models with dimensions similar to those of the stochastic tree models. Comparison of induced currents and RRs calculated using these tree models confirms that the simple-shaped tree model tends to overestimate the RR.