An assessment of the electromagnetic safety of personnel working along extra-high voltage lines using the finite element method

One of the factors influencing the accuracy of electromagnetic safety calculations is the mathematical description of the geometry of the overhead extra-high voltage (EHV) power transmission lines. Most methods for calculating the electric field along overhead power lines are developed for flat terrain, which does not correspond to real conditions. To assess the influence of the terrain on the electric field strength of industrial frequencies along an overhead power line with a voltage of 500 kV, the electric field (EF) strength was calculated using the mirror image method when the line rises uphill and in rough terrain. The results, when compared with the values obtained experimentally by the staff of the SUSU Department of Safety, show errors of more than 20 %. To develop a methodology for constructing maps of the EF intensity along 500-kV overhead power lines, taking into account changes in the terrain, the Solidworks and Mechanical APDL Ansys software environments were used. Computer models of sketches of supports with sags of phase wires with changes in the terrain surface were built, with the subsequent conversion of these sketches into a three-dimensional model. The advantage of the Solidworks software environment is the simplicity and convenience of creating a model of volumetric objects of complex shape, which allows you to determine the strength of the electric field of industrial frequency at any point.