IEC TS 60479-1:2005

Effects of current on human beings and livestock - Part 1: General aspects

IEC 60479-1:2005 For a given current path through the human body, the danger to persons depends mainly on the magnitude and duration of the current flow. However, the time/current zones specified in this publication are, in many cases, not directly applicable in practice for designing measures of protection against electrical shock. The necessary criterion is the admissible limit of touch voltage (i.e. the product of the current through the body called touch current and the body impedance) as a function of time. The relationship between current and voltage is not linear because the impedance of the human body varies with the touch voltage, and data on this relationship is therefore required. The different parts of the humanbody (such as the skin, blood, muscles, other tissues and joints) present to the electric current a certain impedance composed of resistive and capacitive components. The values of body impedance depend on a number of factors and, in particular, on current path, on touch voltage, duration of current flow, frequency, degree of moisture of the skin, surface area of contact, pressure exerted and temperature. The impedance values indicated in this technical specification result from a close examination of the experimental results available from measurements carried out principally on corpses and on some living persons. It has the status of a horizontal standard in accordance with IEC Guide 104. The contents of the corrigenda of October 2006 and June 2013 have been included in this copy.

Effets du courant sur l'homme et les animaux domestiques - Partie 1: Aspects généraux

IEC 60479-1:2005 Pour un même trajet du courant à travers le corps humain, le danger qu'encourent les personnes dépend essentiellement de l'intensité et de la durée de passage du courant. Toutefois, les zones temps/courant spécifiées dans les paragraphes suivants ne sont pas, dans beaucoup de cas, directement applicables en pratique pour concevoir la protection contre les chocs électriques; le critère est la limite admissible de la tension de contact (c'est-à-dire le produit du courant passant dans le corps humain et de son impédance) en fonction du temps. La relation entre le courant et la tension n'est pas linéaire du fait que l'impédance du corps humain varie avec la tension de contact. Il importe donc de disposer de données quant à cette relation. Les différentes parties du corps humain - telles que la peau, le sang, les muscles, d'autres tissus et les articulations - présentent pour le courant électrique une certaine impédance composée d'éléments résistifs et capacitifs. Les valeurs de ces impédances dépendent de plusieurs facteurs et notamment du trajet du courant, de la tension de contact, de la durée du passage du courant, de la fréquence du courant, de l'état de l'humidité de la peau, de la surface de contact, de la pression exercée et de la température. Les valeurs d'impédances indiquées dans cette spécification technique résultent d'un examen minutieux des résultats expérimentaux disponibles de mesures effectuées principalement sur des cadavres et sur quelques personnes vivantes. Elle a le statut de norme horizontale conformément au IEC Guide 104. Le contenu des corrigendum d'octobre 2006 et de juin 2013 a été pris en considération dans cet exemplaire.

General Information

• Status: Replaced
• Publication Date: 11-Jul-2016
• ICS: 13.200 - Accident and disaster control
• ICS: 29.020 - Electrical engineering in general
• Technical Committee: TC 64 - Electrical installations and protection against electric shock
• Current Stage: DELPUB - Deleted Publication
• Start Date: 30-Jun-2018
• Completion Date: 13-Dec-2018

Relations

• Replaced By: IEC 60479-1:2018 - Effects of current on human beings and livestock - Part 1: General aspects
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023
• Amended By: IEC TS 60479-1:2005/AMD1:2016 - Amendment 1 - Effects of current on human beings and livestock - Part 1: General aspects
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023
• Corrected By: IEC TS 60479-1:2005/COR1:2006 - Corrigendum 1 - Effects of current on human beings and livestock - Part 1: General aspects
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023
• Corrected By: IEC TS 60479-1:2005/COR2:2013 - Corrigendum 2 - Effects of current on human beings and livestock - Part 1: General aspects
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023
• Revises: IEC TS 60479-1:1994 - Effects of current on human beings and livestock - Part 1: General aspects
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC TS 60479-1 ®
Edition 4.1 2016-07
CONSOLIDATED VERSION
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
colour
inside
BASIC SAFETY PUBLICATION
Effects of current on human beings and livestock –
Part 1: General aspects
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form
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IEC TS 60479-1 ®
Edition 4.1 2016-07
CONSOLIDATED VERSION
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
colour
inside
BASIC SAFETY PUBLICATION
Effects of current on human beings and livestock –
Part 1: General aspects
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 13.200; 29.020 ISBN 978-2-8322-4242-1

IEC TS 60479-1 ®
Edition 4.1 2016-07
CONSOLIDATED VERSION
REDLINE VERSION
colour
inside
BASIC SAFETY PUBLICATION
Effects of current on human beings and livestock –
Part 1: General aspects
– 2 – IEC TS 60479-1:2005+AMD1:2016 CSV
 IEC 2016
CONTENTS
FOREWORD. 6
INTRODUCTION . 9
1 Scope . 11
2 Normative references . 11
3 Terms and definitions . 12
3.1 General definitions . 12
3.2 Effects of sinusoidal alternating current in the range 15 Hz to 100 Hz . 13
3.3 Effects of direct current . 13
4 Electrical impedance of the human body . 14
4.1 Internal impedance of the human body (Z ) . 14
i
4.2 Impedance of the skin (Z ) . 14
s
4.3 Total impedance of the human body (Z ) . 15
T
4.4 Factors affecting initial resistance of the human body (R ) . 15
4.5 Values of the total impedance of the human body (Z ) . 15
T
4.5.1 Sinusoidal alternating current 50/60 Hz for large surface areas of
contact . 15
4.5.2 Sinusoidal alternating current 50/60 Hz for medium and small surface
areas of contact . 18
4.5.3 Sinusoidal alternating current with frequencies up to 20 kHz . 21
4.5.4 Direct current . 22
4.6 Value of the initial resistance of the human body (R ) . 23
5 Effects of sinusoidal alternating current in the range of 15 Hz to 100 150 Hz . 23
5.1 Threshold of perception . 23
5.2 Threshold of reaction . 23
5.3 Immobilization . 23
5.4 Threshold of let-go . 23
5.5 Threshold of ventricular fibrillation . 24
5.6 Other effects related to electric shocks . 24
5.7 Effects of current on the skin . 25
5.8 Description of time/current zones (see Figure 20) . 25
5.9 Application of heart-current factor (F) . 26
6 Effects of direct current. 26
6.1 Threshold of perception and threshold of reaction . 26
6.2 Threshold of immobilization and threshold of let-go . 27
6.3 Threshold of ventricular fibrillation . 27
6.4 Other effects of current . 27
6.5 Description of time/current zones (see Figure 22) . 28
6.6 Heart factor . 28
6.7 Effects of anodic versus cathodic d.c. currents . 46
Annexes . 50
Annex A (normative) Measurements of the total body impedances Z made on living
T
human beings and on corpses and the statistical analysis of the results . 51
Annex B (normative) Influence of frequency on the total body impedance (Z ) . 54
T
Annex C (normative) Total body resistance (R ) for direct current . 55
T
Annex D (informative) Examples of calculations of Z . 56
T
 IEC 2016
Annex E (informative) Theories of ventricular fibrillation . 60
Annex F (informative) Quantities ULV and LLV . 61
Annex G (informative) Circuit simulation methods in electric shock evaluation . 62

Figure 1 – Impedances of the human body . 28
Figure 2 – Internal partial impedances Z of the human body . 29
ip
Figure 3 – Simplified schematic diagram for the internal impedances of the human
body . 30
Figure 4 – Total body impedances Z (50 %) for a current path hand to hand, for large
T
surface areas of contact in dry, water-wet and saltwater-wet conditions for a percentile
rank of 50 % of the population for touch voltages U = 25 V to 700 V, a.c. 50/60 Hz . 31
T
Figure 5 – Dependence of the total impedance Z of one living person on the surface
T
area of contact in dry condition and at touch voltage (50 Hz) . 32
Figure 6 – Dependence of the total body impedance Z on the touch voltage U for a
T T
current path from the tips of the right to the left forefinger compared with large surface
areas of contact from the right to the left hand in dry conditions measured on one living
person, touch voltage range U = 25 V to 200 V, a.c. 50 Hz, duration of current flow
T
max. 25 ms . 33
th
Figure 7 – Dependence of the total body impedance Z for the 50 percentile rank of
T
a population of living human beings for large, medium and small surface areas of
2 2 2
contact (order of magnitude 10 000 mm , 1 000 mm and 100 mm respectively) in
dry conditions at touch voltages U = 25 V to 200 V a.c. 50/60 Hz . 34
T
th
Figure 8 – Dependence of the total body impedance Z for the 50 percentile rank of
T
a population of living human beings for large, medium and small surface areas of
2 2 2
contact (order of magnitude 10 000 mm 1 000 mm and 100 mm respectively) in
water-wet conditions at touch voltages U = 25 V to 200 V, a.c. 50/60 Hz . 35
T
th
Figure 9 – Dependence of the total body impedance Z for the 50 percentile rank of
T
a population of living human beings for large, medium and small surface areas of
2 2 2
contact (order of magnitude 10 000 mm , 1 000 mm and 100 mm respectively) in
saltwater-wet conditions at touch voltages U = 25 V to 200 V, a.c. 50/60 Hz . 36
T
Figure 10 – Values for the total body impedance Z measured on 10 living human
T
beings with a current path hand to hand and large surface areas of contact in dry
conditions at a touch voltage of 10 V and frequencies from 25 Hz to 20 kHz . 37
Figure 11 – Values for the total body impedance Z measured on one living human
T
being with a current path hand to hand and large surface areas of contact in dry
conditions at a touch voltage of 25 V and frequencies from 25 Hz to 2 kHz . 37
Figure 12 – Frequency dependence of the total body impedance Z of a population for
T
a percentile rank of 50 % for touch voltages from 10 V to 1 000 V and a frequency
range from 50 Hz to 2 150 kHz for a current path hand to hand or hand to foot, large
surface areas of contact in dry conditions . 38
Figure 13 – Statistical value of total body impedances Z and body resistances R for
T T
a percentile rank of 50 % of a population of living human beings for the current path
hand to hand, large surface areas of contact, dry conditions, for touch voltages up to
700 V, for a.c. 50/60 Hz and d.c. . 39
Figure 14 – Dependence of the alteration of human skin condition on current density
i and duration of current flow (for detailed description of zones, see 5.7) . 40
T
Figure 15 – Electrodes used for the measurement of the dependence of the
impedance of the human body Z on the surface area of contact . 41
T
Figure 16 – Oscillograms of touch voltages U and touch currents I for a.c., current
T T
path hand to hand, large surface areas of contact in dry conditions taken from
measurements . 42
Figure 17 – Occurrence of the vulnerable period of ventricles during the cardiac cycle . 43

– 4 – IEC TS 60479-1:2005+AMD1:2016 CSV
 IEC 2016
Figure 18 – Triggering of ventricular fibrillation in the vulnerable period – Effects on
electro-cardiogram (ECG) and blood pressure . 43
Figure 19 – Fibrillation data for dogs, pigs and sheep from experiments and for
persons calculated from statistics of electrical accidents with transversal direction of
current flow hand to hand and touch voltages U = 220 V and 380 V a.c. with body
T
impedances Z (5 %) . 44
T
Figure 20 – Conventional time/current zones of effects of a.c. currents (15 Hz to
100 Hz) o
...

IEC/TS 60479-1
Edition 4.0 2005-07
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
SPÉCIFICATION
TECHNIQUE
BASIC SAFETY PUBLICATION
PUBLICATION FONDAMENTALE DE SÉCURITÉ
Effects of current on human beings and livestock –
Part 1: General aspects
Effets du courant sur l'homme et les animaux domestiques –
Partie 1: Aspects généraux
IEC/TS 60479-1:2005
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by

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IEC/TS 60479-1
Edition 4.0 2005-07
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
SPÉCIFICATION
TECHNIQUE
BASIC SAFETY PUBLICATION
PUBLICATION FONDAMENTALE DE SÉCURITÉ
Effects of current on human beings and livestock –
Part 1: General aspects
Effets du courant sur l'homme et les animaux domestiques –
Partie 1: Aspects généraux
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
PRICE CODE
INTERNATIONALE
XA
CODE PRIX
ICS 13.200; 29.020 ISBN 2-8318-8096-3

– 2 – TS 60479-1 © IEC:2005
CONTENTS
FOREWORD.6

INTRODUCTION.9

1 Scope.11

2 Normative references .12

3 Terms and definitions .12

3.1 General definitions .12

3.2 Effects of sinusoidal alternating current in the range 15 Hz to 100 Hz .13
3.3 Effects of direct current .14
4 Electrical impedance of the human body.14
4.1 Internal impedance of the human body (Z ) .14
i
4.2 Impedance of the skin (Z ).15
s
4.3 Total impedance of the human body (Z ) .15
T
4.4 Factors affecting initial resistance of the human body (R ) .15
O
4.5 Values of the total impedance of the human body (Z ).15
T
4.6 Value of the initial resistance of the human body (R ) .23
O
5 Effects of sinusoidal alternating current in the range of 15 Hz to 100 Hz.23
5.1 Threshold of perception.23
5.2 Threshold of reaction.23
5.3 Immobilization .23
5.4 Threshold of let-go .23
5.5 Threshold of ventricular fibrillation.24
5.6 Other effects related to electric shocks.24
5.7 Effects of current on the skin.25
5.8 Description of time/current zones (see Figure 20).26
5.9 Application of heart-current factor (F) .26
6 Effects of direct current .27
6.1 Threshold of perception and threshold of reaction .27
6.2 Threshold of immobilization and threshold of let-go .27
6.3 Threshold of ventricular fibrillation.27
6.4 Other effects of current .28
6.5 Description of time/current zones (see Figure 22).29

6.6 Heart factor .29

Annexes .48
Annex A (normative) Measurements of the total body impedances Z made on living
T
human beings and on corpses and the statistical analysis of the results .49
Annex B (normative) Influence of frequency on the total body impedance (Z ) .52
T
Annex C (normative) Total body resistance (R ) for direct current .53
T
Annex D (informative) Examples of calculations of Z .54
T
Bibliography.58

TS 60479-1 © IEC:2005 – 3 –
Figure 1 – Impedances of the human body.29

Figure 2 – Internal partial impedances Z of the human body .30

ip
Figure 3 – Simplified schematic diagram for the internal impedances of the human body.31

Figure 4 – Total body impedances Z (50 %) for a current path hand to hand, for large
T
surface areas of contact in dry, water-wet and saltwater-wet conditions for a percentile

rank of 50 % of the population for touch voltages U = 25 V to 700 V, a.c. 50/60 Hz.32
T
Figure 5 – Dependence of the total impedance Z of one living person on the surface
T
area of contact in dry condition and at touch voltage (50 Hz) .33

Figure 6 – Dependence of the total body impedance Z on the touch voltage U for a

T T
current path from the tips of the right to the left forefinger compared with large surface

areas of contact from the right to the left hand in dry conditions measured on one living
person, touch voltage range U = 25 V to 200 V, a.c. 50 Hz, duration of current flow
T
max. 25 ms .34
th
Figure 7 – Dependence of the total body impedance Z for the 50 percentile rank of
T
a population of living human beings for large, medium and small surface areas of
2 2 2
contact (order of magnitude 10 000 mm , 1 000 mm and 100 mm respectively) in dry
conditions at touch voltages U = 25 V to 200 V a.c. 50/60 Hz.35
T
th
Figure 8 – Dependence of the total body impedance Z for the 50 percentile rank of
T
a population of living human beings for large, medium and small surface areas of
2 2 2
contact (order of magnitude 10 000 mm 1 000 mm and 100 mm respectively) in
water-wet conditions at touch voltages U = 25 V to 200 V, a.c. 50/60 Hz.36
T
th
Figure 9 – Dependence of the total body impedance Z for the 50 percentile rank of
T
a population of living human beings for large, medium and small surface areas of
2 2 2
contact (order of magnitude 10 000 mm , 1 000 mm and 100 mm respectively) in
saltwater-wet conditions at touch voltages U = 25 V to 200 V, a.c. 50/60 Hz .37
T
Figure 10 – Values for the total body impedance Z measured on 10 living human
T
beings with a current path hand to hand and large surface areas of contact in dry
conditions at a touch voltage of 10 V and frequencies from 25 Hz to 20 kHz .38
Figure 11 – Values for the total body impedance Z measured on one living human
T
being with a current path hand to hand and large surface areas of contact in dry
conditions at a touch voltage of 25 V and frequencies from 25 Hz to 2 kHz.38
Figure 12 – Frequency dependence of the total body impedance Z of a population for
T
a percentile rank of 50 % for touch voltages from 10 V to 1 000 V and a frequency
range from 50 Hz to 2 kHz for a current path hand to hand or hand to foot, large
surface areas of contact in dry conditions .39
Figure 13 – Statistical value of total body impedances Z and body resistances R for a
T T
percentile rank of 50 % of a population of living human beings for the current path
hand to hand, large surface areas of contact, dry conditions, for touch voltages up to
700 V, for a.c. 50/60 Hz and d.c.40

Figure 14 – Dependence of the alteration of human skin condition on current density i
T
and duration of current flow (for detailed description of zones, see 5.7) .41
Figure 15 – Electrodes used for the measurement of the dependence of the
impedance of the human body Z on the surface area of contact .42
T
– 4 – TS 60479-1 © IEC:2005
Figure 16 – Oscillograms of touch voltages U and touch currents I for a.c., current
T T
path hand to hand, large surface areas of contact in dry conditions taken from

measurements .43

Figure 17 – Occurrence of the vulnerable period of ventricles during the cardiac cycle .44

Figure 18 – Triggering of ventricular fibrillation in the vulnerable period – Effects on
electro-cardiogram (ECG) and blood pressure
...