Analysis of dependence factors of body shadow effect of body-worn dosimeters in outdoor and indoor scenarios

Personal exposimeters (PEMs) are personal devices typically used to measure the personal exposure to an electric field (E-field). Several uncertainties regarding PEMs have been identified: disturbance due to the presence of the user, known as body shadow effect (BSE), the incomplete identification of the radiation source, and a lower limit of the sensitivity range. This work tackles the BSE, and the dependence factors of this uncertainty, considering various communication frequencies and polarisations, in dynamic conditions and in predefined paths in both outdoor and indoor environments. Dependence factors of the BSE have been detected, such as the on-body location where the PEM is worn, the position relative to the radiation source, and the frequency of the signal. This work concludes that the BSE involves an underestimation or an overestimation of the logged levels, depending on the frequency of exposure and the PEM location. It also suggests that the on-body position of the worn PEM affects the BSE as long as the PEM is non-line of sight (NLoS) with the radiation source.