Automatic Tsunami Barrier

The Anti-Tsunami Laboratory (ATL) invented and developed the Anti-Tsunami Door (ATD) barrier as an automatic tsunami barrier. In September 2018, ATL and Kyoto University tested a mid-scale model of a three-stage ATD unit and confirmed its performance: (1) functioning automatically (refer to Figure 9); (2) achieving reasonable wave height reduction, which is approximately 40%–80% that of a solid barrier of the same height; and (3) demonstrating reasonable strength for a wooden structure under the mid-scale model test conditions. ATL had planned to test a large-scale model of an ATD unit in Oregon State University in May 2020, but that test has been delayed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the wave pressure on the ATD unit is expected to be high during the large-scale model test, ATL requested that the Explosion Research Institute (ERI) simulate the wave pressure on a large-scale model ATD unit, and based on the results, ATL will reinforce the ATD unit. After testing the large-scale model unit, ATL will install ATD barriers along the coast of Japan, customizing the barrier for specific tsunami hazards.