Absorption cross-section of the human body in a reverberant environment

Abstract

The interiors of mass transit vehicles act as pseudo-reverberant environments which are loaded by the bodies of passengers. This study models the broadband loading characteristics of the human body, first by simulation with spherical approximations, then by measurement of nine human subjects in a reverberation chamber. The absorption cross-section of the subjects is calculated from the loaded and unloaded transmission coefficients, and compared to the models and additionally to full-wave simulations conducted during research into human exposure. It is found to vary depending on the physical characteristics of the individual subject, with reliance on each individual characteristic being frequency-dependent. Sources of systematic error are identified and further refinements to the measurement and calculation are suggested.