Arc Flash Concept Simulator

Explore how voltage, available fault current, working distance, clearing time, equipment configuration, and protection features influence conceptual incident energy and arc-flash boundary behavior.

AVAILABLEAUTOMATED CHECKS ONLYSTANDARDS-AWAREINTERMEDIATENFPA 70EIEEE 1584WHAT DO THESE STATUSES MEAN?

CONCEPTUAL MODELNOT IEEE 15845 SCENARIOS208 V – 15 kV

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Overview

Arc flash risk becomes much easier to understand when the variables are connected visually. This lab lets learners adjust system voltage, available fault current, working distance, breaker clearing time, equipment type, electrode configuration, and enclosure size, then immediately see how a simplified incident-energy trend, arcing-current estimate, arc-flash boundary, severity band, and PPE guidance respond. The simulator is intentionally framed as a conceptual teaching tool — not an IEEE 1584 calculator, not a label-generation tool, and not a substitute for an arc flash study performed by a qualified professional engineer. Five tabbed workspaces move from dashboard metrics to boundary visualization, mitigation experiments, scenario presets, and quiz-based reinforcement. Protection toggles such as maintenance mode, zone-selective interlocking, differential protection, and arc-reduction maintenance switch demonstrate the outsized impact of faster clearing. Scenario cards cover a typical 480 V MCC, high-fault switchgear, 208 V panelboard, 4160 V switchgear, and a long-clearing worst-case condition. The goal is not to calculate labels; the goal is to build intuition for why labels change when fault current, distance, equipment geometry, and clearing time change.

App preview

A live look at the app you'll launch — every control on the left drives the visualizations on the right in real time.

Inside the lab

Example data — not a real field report

Dashboard tab showing incident energy, PPE category, and arc-flash boundary — Dashboard · Live incident energy, PPE category, and arc-flash boundary as you dial fault current, voltage, and clearing time.

Hazard View showing the arc, boundary ring, and worker to scale — Hazard View · The arc, the boundary ring, and the worker drawn to scale — so cal/cm² and distance stop being abstract numbers.

Mitigation Lab comparing engineering controls side by side — Mitigation Lab · Compare faster trips, arc-energy reduction, remote racking, and greater working distance side by side.

Scenarios tab with 480 V panelboard, 4160 V switchgear, and utility-tie presets — Scenarios · Realistic 480 V panelboard, 4160 V switchgear, and utility-tie cases preconfigured for instant exploration.

Learn tab with IEEE 1584 and NFPA 70E background — Learn · Short primer on the IEEE 1584 model and NFPA 70E PPE tables so the intuition ties back to the code basis.

What you'll do

01Explain how incident energy is influenced by available fault current, clearing time, working distance, and equipment configuration
02Distinguish an educational arc flash concept simulator from a formal IEEE 1584 arc flash study
03Interpret arc flash boundary, severity bands, and PPE guidance as conceptual learning cues rather than label-calculation outputs
04Compare how maintenance mode, ZSI, differential protection, and ARMS reduce effective clearing time in the simulator
05Evaluate predefined scenarios including 480 V MCCs, 208 V panelboards, high-fault switchgear, and medium-voltage switchgear
06Correct common arc flash misconceptions, including 'low voltage means low risk' and 'PPE is the primary protection'

Try a guided scenario

Change one variable at a time and record the direction and rough magnitude of the effect.

What drives incident energy · Arc Flash & Electrical Safety

No sign-in required. Progress is saved on this device.

What this lab is not

Not a design document, stamped calculation, or approval record.
Not a substitute for engineering analysis by a licensed professional.
Not an IEEE 1584 incident-energy study and not a source of arc flash labels.
Not connected to live equipment and not a safety device.

Calculation basis

References NFPA 70E, IEEE 1584. Results are computed from the entered inputs and cited back to the referencing clause or table number — no code text or table is reproduced verbatim.

Simplifying assumptions are stated in the lab itself; where a model is intentionally conceptual, the lab says so rather than implying study-grade accuracy.

Standards basis: Standards-aware. Validation state: Automated checks only (last checked 2026-08-15).