Abstract
In recent times the areas of application of direct current systems are being expanded. This may lead to increased risk of electric shock. The subject of investigations described in this paper is a non-linear model of the resistance of the human body under the conditions of direct current electric shock. The aim of the study was to determine the approximate model of the human body resistance at a hand-to-hand DC flow, which may be useful for assessing the effects of the electric shock. The investigations were carried out on three subjects using the hand to hand current path. Experimental studies were conducted within a voltage range of up to 80 V, while the analytical form of the identified model enables extrapolation of the obtained results to a wider range of touch voltages. The identified models allow to evaluate the shock hazard within a voltage range of up to 1500 V. The adopted shock hazard criterion was the probability of ventricular fibrillation of 5 %. The result of the studies was a direct correlation between maximum allowable duration of shock and the touch voltage determined for the three subjects on the basis of the relationship between shock duration and the touch current specified in the IEC report, and of non-linear models of resistance identified on the basis of experimental studies. It was demonstrated that for touch voltages of up to 650 V the fibrillation phenomenon should not occur when the shock duration is shorter than 10 seconds.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eie.22.4.15910
Highlights
The effect of direct current on the human being is less harmful than that of alternating current
Empirical studies have shown that the resistance of the human body along hand-to-hand current path can be modeled using the impedance model proposed by Korniluk [18]
This situation resulted primarily from the limitation of the permissible shock current, and the touch voltage adopted for the tests
Summary
The effect of direct current on the human being is less harmful than that of alternating current. The number of direct current electric shock incidents is much lower than that of alternating current incidents, which is due to the much smaller number of appliances and devices powered by direct current. Direct current applications are increasing and becoming available to users lacking appropriate qualifications, and the hazard of direct current shocks is rising. A decision to switch from DC to AC supply systems was taken in USA in 1880 [1]; since that time the alternating current is the dominating mode of supplying power to electrical equipment. The applications of direct current are growing in terms of both their number as well as their diversity.
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