Wavecontrol : Electromagnetic Field Meter

Workers’ exposure to electromagnetic fields must be monitored for their safety in a wide range of industrial areas, machinery and manufacturing processes. Some examples include induction heating, welding systems and processes, radio frequency (RF) heating, tempering and drying equipment, chemical processes (electrolysis), etc. Home appliances also generate electromagnetic fields that must be measured and evaluated before they can be put on the market. The applicable reference standards include: EN 50519 (induction heating), IEC/EN 62822-1, IEC/EN 62822-2 and IEC/EN 62822-3 (welding), IEC 62233 (household appliances), IEC 62493 (lighting), EN 50527 (workers bearing active implantable medical devices), etc.

The main sources of electromagnetic radiation in the area of defense are radar stations, satellite equipment, communication equipment, etc. The SMP2 is particularly suitable thanks to its high-speed digital processing that ensures the ability to detect peaks of up to 1 µs. It can also detect isolated very high amplitude peaks thanks to a special self-scaling function that adapts the device’s dynamic margin (amplification) to the necessary levels. In the area of defense we can find electric and magnetic fields of low frequency, from communications equipment working at several kilohertz (kHz) up to gigahertz (GHz). The SMP2 + WP400 + WPF18 combination is ideal in this case because it can cover the 1 Hz – 18 GHz frequency range with just two probes.

 

LABORATORIES / R+D

Radio frequency identification (RFID) and electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems are commonly used in public spaces, generating complex electric fields. People who work in spaces near those systems are exposed more intensely than people who are passing through them. Most of those systems work in the low frequency range. The reference standards applicable to exposure to RFID/EAS are: EN 50364 and IEC/EN 62369-1.

Mobile telephone systems, radio broadcasters and other communication systems are the main sources of radiation in this area. In most cases measurements are taken under far field conditions and so use of an E (electric) field probe (e.g. the WPF8) will be sufficient. In the case of low frequency transmitters, we might find near field conditions, and so the H (magnetic) field will also have to be measured, e.g. with the WPH30 probe. The applicable reference standards include: IEC 62232 and EN 50492 (base stations), EN 50496, EN 50554 EN 50475 and EN 50476 (broadcast), EN 50400 and EN 50401 (fixed equipment for radio transmission).

Magnetic resonance equipment, diathermy and hyperthermia equipment, and electrosurgery equipment are the main sources of electromagnetic radiation in the medical industry. The medical staff using that equipment or working in nearby spaces are exposed more intensely than patients or people who are passing through, and so exposure within the radius of influence of that equipment must be evaluated and controlled. This includes measurements at low and high frequencies using the suitable devices and probes with isotropic response and RMS. The applicable standard is IEC 60601.

Electricity is very important in the rail industry, since it allows trains to move quickly, quietly, comfortably and with little pollution. High-power and low-frequency energy is used for moving trains and radio frequencies (RF) are used for communication. People’s exposure to electromagnetic fields both inside and outside trains, near communication systems and in stations must be controlled. The standard EN 50500 defines procedures for measuring the levels generated in the rail industry in connection with human exposure.