7.

EFC-400: Software for Simulation of

Electromagnetic Fields
Produced by High-Voltage Lines and Electric Power
Systems
Although most existing limits for electric and magnetic field strength are only
recommendations, utilities in some countries have already begun using these values
to evaluate their power systems. Legislation is up and coming in many countries, and
the current guidelines will most likely become law in the near future. The European
Union plans to stipulate limits which the individual European countries can then either
accept "as is", or set even more restrictive limits. In Germany, new field strength
limits took effect on January 1, 1997. Utility companies are now required to consider
electromagnetic radiation as part of their environmental compatibility tests. Existing
facilities must conform to the same law within three years. In the United States, most
states have adopted limits as well. Today, legislation in most countries is based on
the recommendations of the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA).
In view of all this legislative activity, companies operating in the power sector must be
able to compute and display the electric and magnetic field distribution for existing
and planned equipment. WG's new simulation software package (EFC-400) is the
ideal tool for such advanced simulation work. EFC-400 runs under Windows,
producing professional-quality results with simple operation and fast processing
speed.
The software libraries include different tower types, cables, insulators, buildings and
individual elements so that users can simulate non-standard towers and other
objects. User-defined entities can then be added to the EFC-400 libraries, making it
easy to simulate power line routes. The towers forming a route can be inserted into
imported terrain profiles or maps (vectorized) with a simple mouse-click. EFC-400 is
based on the same principles and uses the same formats as CAD software and
geographical information systems (GIS), thereby reducing the learning time for users
familiar with such concepts.
Each time a parameter is changed (e.g. cable sag, mast spacing), the field
distribution can be recomputed and displayed. The power line route can also be
manipulated as a whole (with functions such as shift, rotate, insert, etc.). The cables
are automatically adjusted with each change.
While magnetic fields penetrate almost all media unchanged, electric fields are
greatly influenced by towers, buildings, vegetation, etc. The software takes into
account the ground cable and mast influences and also simulates buildings to
provide an excellent approximation of the actual field strength.
EFC-400 computes the field distribution in the range 0 to 500 Hz. To comply with
most norms and guidelines, the existing background field strengths must be taken
into account. Accordingly, the software handles multiple field sources with proper
phase and includes them in the overall simulation. The simulation can thus
encompass railway power systems (e.g. 16 2/3 Hz), high-voltage lines at 50/60 Hz or
d.c.-based street car or subway lines. During the test phase, the software was also
deemed suitable for simulating fields produced by transformer facilities. With the
software's 500 Hz upper limit, the on-board power systems in airplanes and ships
can be simulated. Most of these systems operate at 400 Hz.
EFC-400 is a versatile tool which utility companies will find ideal for their planning
requirements. The software makes it easy to compute electric and magnetic field
strengths for verifying conformance to limits, assuring electromagnetic compatibility
and assessing human safety factors.
The result presentation facilities are also very powerful. Field strengths are computed
and displayed with respect to the actual topography. Measurement data (e.g.
produced by EFA-3 Field Analyzer) can also be projected into the topography.
Queries received from consumers or other parties are also easily handled since EFC-
400 can output results for single cases in protocol format. Users can thus generate
all-encompassing data as required by authorities during the approval process.
Werner Kumbier