Assessment of Current Flowing through the Human Body in a Case of Fault Current

The paper deals with an assessment of the maximum permissible current through the human body when standing above a horizontally buried grounding electrode into which fault current is injected. The analysis is based on the thin wire antenna theory and the Pocklington integral equation handled via the Galerkin Bubnov indirect boundary element method (GB-IBEM). Provided the step voltage is determined, a simplified model of the human body is used to estimate the current that flows through a person from one foot to the other. The study considers both scenarios: when the individual is barefooted and when wearing protective shoes.