Abstract: To assess the level of child occupant exposure to electromagnetic field generated by DC power cables in battery electric vehicles, the models for passenger compartment, child body and DC power cables are established with finite element software Comsol Multiphysics, based on basic principle of electromagnetic dosimetry. A simulation on the models is conducted to analyze the magnetic flux density in different tissues of child body sitting on the different positions of compartment, which are then compared with the guidelines of International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The results show that in general low speed drive with a cable current of 27 A, the maximum magnetic flux density in child body tissues at different sitting position is: 0.18 μT (front passenger seat), 0.182 μT (left back seat), 1.26 μT (middle back seat), and 17.8 μT (right back seat) respectively, while in high-speed cruise drive with a cable current of 150 A, the corresponding maximum magnetic flux densities are around 5.5 times as high as that at low-speed drive. However, these levels are still far below the limit values recommended by ICNIRP, indicating that the magnetic flux density generated in passenger compartment by DC power cable will not cause health risk to child occupant.

Key words: battery electric vehicle, electromagnetic dosimetry, child body model, magnetic flux density