VUB student carries out unique research into gold adhesion on sacred Buddhist temple in Myanmar

VUB student carries out unique research into gold adhesion on sacred Buddhist temple in Myanmar

As part of her master’s thesis, engineering student in chemistry and materials Lise Vermeersch is looking for a way to make the gold leaf of the famous Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, adhere better. The stupa “also called golden robe” of the temple is covered with 50 tons of gold leaf, glued to an underlying copper structure. Over time, however, the gold plates flake off, so the temple has to be renovated every five years. “There are a number of possible causes for the gold detaching. It is not easy to glue two totally different metals together. When it gets very hot, for example, the glue, copper and gold expand differently, creating mechanical tensions that cause the glue seal to break. The temple is also close to the sea –  copper can oxidise under the gold leaf, so corrosion may start that causes the glue to detach,” says Vermeersch.

The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, is one of the most important Buddhist stupas in the world. Inside the temple there are said to be eight hairs of the Buddha Gautama, and about 1,500 people work there each day. The 98m high gilded temple is visible throughout Yangon, day and night. The crown is tipped with 5,448 diamonds and 2,317 rubies and8,688 sheets of f gold leaf is needed to completely cover the temple. This gold is glued to the underlying copper structure.

The five-yearly dismantling of the dome is a costly affair, but the stupa is so important to Buddhist pilgrims that the costs are considered reasonable. The many pilgrims who visit the sanctuary every year contribute as much as possible to its maintenance. Because of the amount of gold needed for restoration, the administrators of the temple even have their own small gold factory nearby.

A collaboration with Yangon Technological University (YTU), the local museum and Myanmar’s minister of culture with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel came about at the request of a Shwe Wut Hmon Aye, a former PhD student of Professor Herman Terryn who is now working at YTU.  Within this collaboration a research project was set up to study the deterioration of the gold/polymer/copper interfaces. Vermeersch and fellow engineering student Wouter Vereycken wrote their master project on this subject. Vermeersch is now working on it and, under the supervision of Professor Terryn and Professor Tom Hauffman, is investigating preparations for the roof and trying to find out why the structure is failing.

There are a number of possibilities: it may be that a galvanic coupling is created by the adhesive; the warm climate and the location of the temple next to the sea may take their toll; or the glue used may be insufficient. The bonding of gold leaf is often done for cultural heritage, but research into the chemical background remains limited. A connection between copper and other materials with glue is mainly done in the production of electronics, such as printed circuit boards. Both materials therefore still require research into their adhesive properties in this setting. Most metals and metal oxides are coated with an organic coating to protect them from dangerous environmental influences that can cause corrosion and to give them certain functionalities such as gloss, colour or electrically conductive surfaces. The durability and efficiency of such hybrid structures is largely determined by their molecular interfacial behaviour. The aim is to study the molecular gold/polymer/copper interfaces and to correlate them with the behaviour of the gold/adhesive/copper used in the Shwedagon Pagoda. If it is possible to determine the cause, one can look for lasting solutions.

Contact:

Lise Vermeersch

[email protected]

+32 472 311 524

Professor Herman Terryn

[email protected]

+32 478 881 705

 

copyright photos - Shwedagon pagoda

Contact temple:

Win Kyaw, Chairman

Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science Development Association, Myanmar

[email protected]

IR
Contact us
Lies Feron
Lies Feron Wetenschapscommunicatie Persrelaties
About Press - Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Vrije Universiteit Brussel is an internationally oriented university in Brussels, the heart of Europe. By providing excellent research and education on a human scale, VUB wants to make an active and committed contribution to a better society.

The World Needs You

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel assumes its scientific and social responsibility with love and decisiveness. That’s why VUB launched the platform De Wereld Heeft Je Nodig – The World Needs You, which brings together ideas, actions and projects based on six Ps. The first P stands for People, because that’s what it’s all about: giving people equal opportunities, prosperity, welfare, respect. Peace is about fighting injustice, big and small, in the world. Prosperity combats poverty and inequality. Planet stands for actions on biodiversity, climate, air quality, animal rights... With Partnership, VUB is looking for joint actions to make the world a better place. The sixth and last P is for Poincaré, the French philosopher Henri Poincaré, from whom VUB derives its motto that thinking should submit to nothing except the facts themselves. VUB is an ‘urban engaged university’, strongly anchored in Brussels and Europe and working according to the principles of free research.

www.vub.be/dewereldheeftjenodig

 


Press - Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Pleinlaan 2
1050 Brussel