Specific absorption rate and temperature elevation in the human head due to overexposure to mobile phone radiation with different usage patterns

• Published in: International journal of heat and mass transfer Vol. 130; pp. 1178 - 1188
• Main Authors: Bhargava, Deepshikha, Leeprechanon, Nopbhorn, Rattanadecho, Phadungsak, Wessapan, Teerapot
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2019; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Absorption; Adsorption; Brain; Cell phones; Cellular telephones; Dielectric properties; Electromagnetic radiation; Exposure limits; Finite element analysis; Finite element method; Head; Mobile phone; Organs; Physiological effects; Radiation; Short message service; Skin; Specific absorption rate; Temperature distribution; Temperature effects; Thermodynamic properties; Three dimensional models; Tissues; Voice; Finite element method; Electromagnetic radiation; Mobile phone; Temperature distribution; Specific absorption rate
• ISSN: 0017-9310; 1879-2189
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2018.11.031

•The distribution parameters in tissues are significantly influenced by the considered cases.•The temperature increase in the head tissues are lower to cause any thermal damage.•The resultant SAR values in head models for some cases exceed the ICNIRP 2 W/kg exposure limit. Accidental overexposure to non-standard mobile phone radiation can occur in many situations. The overpower limit of mobile phone radiation interacts with the human body which could result in an adverse effect on human health. It is envisaged that the severity of the physiological effect can take place with small temperature increase in the delicate organs or tissues such as eyes, brain, skin, etc. However, the resulting thermo-physiological response of the body tissues to overpower limit of mobile phone radiation is still not well implemented. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of overexposure of mobile phone radiation on the specific absorption rate (SAR) and temperature increase in three-dimensional heterogeneous human head models. The study focuses attention on the differences in the electromagnetic (EM) absorption characteristics with higher power level among different usage pattern. The effect of three different usage patterns - voice calling, video calling, and texting- on SAR and temperature distributions in different types of head tissues is systematically investigated. This paper also investigates the effects of different user ages, radiated powers, and gap distances between mobile phone and human heads, on SAR and temperature distributions. Results obtained from this analysis considering the safety guidelines show a high impact of mobile phone radiation in the voice calling position. Hence, comparisons of the absorption of mobile phone radiation are calculated between an adult and a 7-year-old child head model, for the voice calling position at different gap distances. In addition, the results indicate that child head always has a higher absorption rate of mobile phone radiation than the adult head. The rate of absorption in tissue increases as the distance between mobile phone and head decreases and the radiated power increases, depending on their dielectric and thermal properties. The obtained results can be helpful in determining exposure limits for the power output of the mobile phone, and the distance a user should maintain from the mobile phone in thermo-physiological aspects.