Through the use of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study, the agencies will look further into the January 2 methane explosion at the ICG mine in West Virginia “to establish the overpressures and the propagation of the explosion through the mine”.

Both hope that investigating the incident from this perspective will result in more detailed and comprehensive information.

“[This] study will allow researchers and investigators to understand the physical phenomena that would result from how various strengths of explosive forces would interact or flow in the mine,” MSHA said Thursday.

The study, which involves mathematical modelling, will illustrate the intricacies of the active and sealed areas, including sudden and gradual roof-to-floor height changes in its crosscuts and entries, inconsistently sized coal pillars, stoppings, seals and any debris present underground at the time of the blast.

With the information, MSHA and ACE said they would be more prepared to determine the force that was needed to create Sago’s aftermath. The explosion’s damage included the obliteration of 10 ventilation seals and numerous ventilation stoppings, which the agency said has triggered a series of full-scale tests for alternative seals as part of its ongoing investigation.

MSHA said it sought ACE’s partnership in the study “after determining that the magnitude and complexity of the methane explosion required supercomputer resources, and specialised expertise and software”