Uncertainty quantification in specific absorption rate calculations using realistic mobile phone models

Although electromagnetic simulation tools are routinely employed for numerical dosimetry, the uncertainty in the calculation is rarely stated. The uncertainty quantification in specific absorption rate (SAR) calculations using realistic mobile phone models is addressed. Since the SAR calculation using the complex computer-aided design (CAD) model of a commercially available mobile phone is numerically expensive, the traditional Monte Carlo (MC) simulation approach proves to be impracticable for the purpose of uncertainty evaluation. Two alternative and computationally efficient techniques - the unscented transform (UT) and the polynomial chaos (PC) methods- are examined for the uncertainty quantification in the SAR calculation using a realistic model of a commercially available mobile phone. Both methods may be applied non-intrusively and the electromagnetic simulation tool may be considered as a black box with the uncertainty in the inputs - e.g. the relative permittivity values of the mobile phone materials- inducing an uncertainty in the output, e.g. the peak spatial-average SAR. The numerical simulation results show that both proposed methods are potential candidates for the uncertainty quantification in SAR calculations since only a few simulations are necessary to obtain results similar to those obtained after hundreds or thousands of MC simulations.