NUMERICAL CALCULATION METHOD FOR MAGNETIC FIELDS IN THE VICINITY OF CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTORS

Abstract: This thesis aims to develop a calculation method to determine themagnetic field magnitudes in the vicinity of power lines, i.e. bothburied cables and overhead lines. This is done through the numericaluse of Biot Savart's law where the conductors are approximated by aseries of straight segment elements that each contribute to the overallfield strength at the field point. The method is compared to two realcases and to the exact integral solution. Also, a review of some of theresearch material regarding electromagnetic fields from power lines andclaims of adverse health effects due to these fields is conducted.Results show that the numerical error is dependent on the segmentationdegree of the conductors and the mathematical model is inaccurate closeto the conductor. The calculations show slightly higher fieldmagnitudes than the previous survey done by WSP (Williams SalePartnership) far away from the source and slightly lower at the centerconductor. This may be due to the excluded induction in the shieldwires and differences in actual conductor coordinates.