Abstract
<jats:p>A brief description of the problem of combating surface air leaks during artificial ventilation of underground mining enterprises is given. The aerodynamic processes in the mouth of a vertical air supply shaft during the injection method of general exchange ventilation of mine workings are considered. The features of aerodynamic processes at the mouth of the trunk are investigated under the specified operating modes of the main fan using physical and numerical modeling methods. During the physical modeling of aerodynamic processes, an inversely proportional dependence of the proportion of unproductive fan energy costs associated with surface air leaks on the velocity of the air jet emanating from the ventilation window was revealed. When numerically modeling aerodynamic processes using the universal ANSYS Fluent software, patterns of changes in the geometric and kinematic parameters of vortex zones and zones of organized movement at the mouth of the trunk were established depending on the velocity of air outflow from the ventilation window at an angle of 45°, which made it possible to appropriately interpret the results of measurements of static air pressure on the trunk model. Based on the results of the conducted research, a new method has been proposed to reduce surface air leaks during artificial ventilation of mines by injection method using guide plates.</jats:p>