Since the development of communication devices and expansion of their applications, there have been concerns about their harmful health effects. The main aim of this study was to investigate laptop thermal effects caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields and thermal sources simultaneously; propose a nondestructive, replicable process that is less expensive than clinical measurements; and to study the effects of positioning any new device near the human body in steady state conditions to ensure safety by U.S. and European standard thresholds. A computer simulation was designed to obtain laptop heat flux from SolidWorks flow simulation. Increase in body temperature due to heat flux was calculated, and antenna radiation was calculated using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio software. Steady state temperature and specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution in user's body, and heat flux beneath the laptop, were obtained from simulations. The laptop in its high performance mode caused 420 (W/m2 ) peak two-dimensional heat flux beneath it. The cumulative effect of laptop in high performance mode and 1 W antenna radiation resulted in temperatures of 42.9, 38.1, and 37.2 °C in lap skin, scrotum, and testis, that is, 5.6, 2.1, and 1.4 °C increase in temperature, respectively. Also, 1 W antenna radiation caused 0.37 × 10-3 and 0.13 × 10-1 (W/kg) peak three-dimensional SAR at 2.4 and 5 GHz, respectively, which could be ignored in reference to standards and temperature rise due to laptop use. Bioelectromagnetics. 38:550-558, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Keywords: CFD; SAR; fertility; laptop; skin; thermal.
© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.