Specific Absorption Rate Evaluation for Passengers Using Wireless Communication Devices Inside Vehicles With Different Handedness, Passenger Counts, and Seating Locations

Abstract

Radiation from mobile phones inside vehicles, which are semiopen metallic enclosures with irregular shapes and apertures, has been a major concern and has warranted investigation in past years. In this paper, the specific absorption rate (SAR) induced in mobile phone users inside a vehicle was evaluated using different scenarios, including handedness, passenger counts, and seating locations. A computer simulation for SAR distributions in a human body was performed based on the finite-difference time-domain method. The SAR values in mobile phone users in free space were also compared to those inside a vehicle; results illustrated that the maximum SAR induced for mobile phone users in a vehicle is 5% higher than those in free space, but the SAR results showed no significant difference for the handedness. By comparing the SAR values between mobile phone users and nonusers inside a vehicle with a passenger count and seating locations, it was observed that the SAR values around the nonusers' body varied much in different situations, and were higher than those in free space, in some circumstances.