The rapid development of urban underground infrastructure in China has generated an urgent demand for engineering professionals proficient in safe and efficient blasting technologies. However, traditional teaching approaches for underground engineering blasting are constrained by three major limitations: safety risks that restrict practical experimentation, the inability to visualize dynamic processes such as stress wave propagation, and a significant gap between theoretical instruction and engineering practice. To address these challenges, this study proposes an innovative experimental teaching design that integrates field measurement with numerical simulation. The objective is to establish a safe, visualized, and practice-oriented teaching framework that enhances students’ theoretical understanding, practical competence, and innovative problem-solving ability, thereby cultivating high-level talents capable of meeting the requirements of modern engineering practice.

A six-stage teaching methodology was designed to construct a closed-loop system of “Field Measurement → Model Prediction → Numerical Simulation → Optimization Design → Practical Verification.” The process begins with theoretical instruction covering electronic detonator technology, the Sadovsky vibration velocity prediction formula, safety assessment procedures, and the principles of LS-DYNA numerical simulation. Subsequently, students participate in case-based group design activities using real engineering cases, during which blasting schemes are developed and presented, followed by defense sessions under instructor guidance on key issues such as cut-hole configuration and delay timing. In the third stage, virtual simulation is introduced for iterative optimization, enabling students to repeatedly test and adjust parameters such as charge structure and initiation sequence within a risk-free environment. This is followed by field measurement and data modeling at an actual tunnel site, where students deploy vibration monitoring systems and use the collected data to determine site-specific parameters for the Sadovsky prediction model. The fifth stage involves numerical simulation and mechanistic visualization using LS-DYNA, in which field measurement data are used to validate three-dimensional models and visualize stress wave propagation and structural dynamic responses. Finally, the closed loop is completed through optimization design and field validation. Based on insights from simulation and measurement, students develop vibration control strategies by optimizing parameters such as charge weight per hole and inter-hole delay, and the effectiveness of the optimized designs is verified through comparative analysis of field vibration data.

The implementation of this integrated teaching model produced significant improvements across several aspects of student learning. Students showed notable enhancement in mastering core blasting engineering competencies, including data acquisition, predictive modeling, numerical simulation, and dynamic design optimization. The visualization capabilities provided by numerical simulation fundamentally improved the understanding of complex mechanical processes and effectively bridged the gap between theoretical learning and engineering practice. The complete iterative cycle from virtual design to field verification fostered systematic engineering thinking and substantially improved students’ problem-solving and innovation abilities. From a pedagogical perspective, the model overcame traditional limitations by reducing safety risks and lowering experimental costs through the integration of virtual simulation. The combined use of field experiments and virtual environments created a flexible and comprehensive learning platform that enables multi-parameter investigations that cannot be achieved through field experiments alone. At the same time, the teaching model promoted faculty development by encouraging instructors to strengthen industry–academia collaboration and enhance their practical engineering expertise. The process of transforming real engineering cases into teaching modules also improved curriculum design and pedagogical innovation, supporting the transition of instructors from knowledge transmitters to mentors guiding engineering practice and innovation.

This study develops and validates a collaborative experimental teaching model integrating field measurement and numerical simulation for underground engineering blasting education. By constructing a rigorous closed-loop teaching framework and achieving deep integration between empirical data and virtual simulation, the model effectively addresses the longstanding challenges of safety constraints, lack of visualization, and limited practical relevance in conventional teaching approaches. The proposed approach significantly enhances students’ systematic knowledge acquisition, practical application ability, and technological innovation capacity, while simultaneously promoting the development of industry-oriented faculty with strong practical backgrounds. This teaching paradigm provides a scalable and replicable framework for cultivating high-level, application-oriented blasting engineering professionals and supports the objectives of emerging engineering education in meeting the demands of modern infrastructure development.

Traditional teaching methods in blasting engineering predominantly focus on theoretical instruction, with insufficient integration of practical blasting experiments. Such limited experiential learning hinders students’ abilities to apply knowledge and develop practical skills, ultimately restricting the cultivation of innovative talent in urban underground space engineering. The lack of realistic blasting environments in laboratories, along with stringent national regulations on explosive materials, presents substantial challenges for most universities in conducting offline experiments. Moreover, the hazardous effects of blasting—such as vibrations and shock waves—pose serious safety risks and liabilities. Currently, while electronic detonators have become the mainstream technology in tunnel blasting, existing virtual blasting simulation platforms have not yet integrated electronic detonators for urban underground controlled blasting applications. This project, leveraging the “first-class” and “high-peak” Civil Engineering disciplines in Shandong Province, aims to develop a virtual simulation experiment system for controlled blasting in urban underground engineering. The goal is to cultivate students’ problem-solving capabilities in complex urban blasting scenarios and enhance the quality of talent training in urban underground space engineering, thereby supporting the national strategy for developing a robust transportation infrastructure.

To recreate the complexity of real-world blasting scenarios, the project employs high-resolution, large-scale 3D modeling techniques to efficiently reconstruct detailed urban underground environments. By integrating and processing relevant datasets, the simulation reproduces realistic blasting scenarios. Based on theories of seismic wave propagation and structural damage mechanisms under tunnel blasting conditions, models are developed to demonstrate the effects of blasting-induced seismic activity and building fissuring. Utilizing big data algorithms, the system generates extensive datasets representing structural vibration responses under various blasting parameters. These data are analyzed to assess the suitability of the blasting parameters and to optimize blasting designs accordingly.

(1) The simulation system enables the design of core blasting elements, achieving for the first time a dynamic linkage between blasting design, construction, and monitoring data, along with visual representations of different blasting outcomes. (2) The introduction of precision blasting technology using electronic detonators into the virtual simulation of urban underground controlled blasting addresses a critical gap in educational platforms. (3) The system innovatively integrates both learning and assessment modes, achieving a seamless “learn-and-test” model; it also supports multi-user collaborative blasting operations, enhancing interactivity and immersion. (4) A multi-dimensional evaluation framework—encompassing blasting effectiveness, structural and building safety, and human comfort—is embedded, allowing students to conduct autonomous assessments.

By developing a virtual simulation experiment for controlled blasting in urban underground engineering, this project enables full-process simulations of precision blasting operations using electronic detonators. It aims to cultivate students’ abilities to solve complex blasting problems in engineering practice while effectively enhancing their competencies in integrated design, teamwork, and innovative thinking. The simulation aligns with the educational objectives of emerging engineering disciplines such as Civil Engineering and Urban Underground Space Engineering by enabling tiered, interdisciplinary applications across various majors and courses, thereby improving the quality of talent cultivation. By integrating the latest industry technologies and cutting-edge research achievements and fostering joint training and curriculum development with industry experts, this initiative effectively connects industry, education, and research. This threefold integration promotes the advancement of tunnel and blasting engineering.