Investigating Thermal Cooling Mechanisms of Human Body Under Exposure to Electromagnetic Radiation

TL;DR

This study uses co-simulation and bioheat equations to analyze how human bodies cool thermally under electromagnetic radiation, highlighting blood flow as a key cooling factor especially at high intensities.

Contribution

The paper introduces a detailed co-simulation approach and emphasizes the significant role of blood flow in thermal cooling under EM exposure, challenging traditional views.

Findings

Blood flow is a crucial cooling mechanism at high EM intensities.

Different cooling mechanisms can be isolated and studied separately.

Numerical results clarify the roles of convection, radiation, and blood flow.

Abstract

Thermal cooling mechanisms of human exposed to electromagnetic (EM) radiation are studied in detail. The electromagnetic and thermal co-simulation method is utilized to calculate the electromagnetic and temperature distributions. Moreover, Pennes' bioheat equation is solved to understand different thermal cooling mechanisms including blood flow, convective cooling and radiative cooling separately or jointly. Numerical results demonstrate the characteristics and functions for each cooling mechanism. Different from the traditional view that the cooling effect of blood is usually reflected by its influence on sweat secretion and evaporation, our study indicates that the blood flow itself is an important factor of thermal cooling especially for high-intensity EM radiation. This work contributes to fundamental understanding of thermal cooling mechanisms of human.