Mining Institute, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Perm, Russia)

L. Yu. Levin, Director, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, aerolog_lev@mail.ru
B. P. Kazakov, Chief Researcher, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Professor
G. Z. Faynburg, Chief Researcher, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Professor

The article is devoted to the main stages of the 70-year history of the Perm Scientific School of Mine Aerology, which emerged in the second half of the 20th century on the basis of the Perm Polytechnic Institute and continues to develop successfully today within the Mining Institute of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The evolution of the research conducted by this scientific school is traced – from the works of the 1950s, dedicated to the ventilation specifics of potash mines in the Verkhnekamskoye deposit, to modern digital technologies for modeling airflow and unsteady processes of heat, gas, and dust transport in contemporary mine ventilation networks of ore mines. Special attention is paid to the contribution of the Perm School to the theory and practice of mine aerology and mining thermophysics, including the formation of new principles for the organization and management of mine ventilation, calculation of the thermal regime of rock masses, as well as the development of approaches to modeling aerothermogasdynamic processes in mining operations. The article examines convective-diffusion models for ventilating multiply connected systems of underground mine workings of various aerodynamic types, three-dimensional numerical modeling, and artificial intelligence tools used in creating digital twins of modern mining enterprises in all the diversity of their real-world activities. The key results of fundamental and applied research are presented, including the use of the unique environment of potash mines for speleotherapy and speleoclimatotherapy. The prospects for the development of the Perm School’s scientific groundwork are outlined, focusing on research aimed at improving productivity, energy efficiency, and safety of underground mining through the introduction of modern instrumental monitoring methods, numerical mathematical modeling, operational and long-term adaptive control methods, and artificial intelligence.

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