Restoration of Hindu temples in Mỹ So’n, Viet Nam: experimental investigation, modelling and proposal for intervention

The archaeological site of Mỹ Sơn is located in central Vietnam and is characterized by the presence of several Hindu temples, many of which were heavily damaged during the Viet Nam war in the 1960s. The present work illustrates the results of experimental tests carried out on material samples taken from the temples, and describes the fundamental lines of the preservation project to be undertaken. Finite element models of some of the temples were set up, both at their presumable original state and at their current damaged conditions. The stress analyses of the original temples aimed to establish whether or not the self-weight alone might be the cause for the collapse of parts of the temples. Also, the damages induced by the bombs and the vegetation were taken into account, and the current stress conditions were determined. The FE models take the layered nature of masonry into account; different types of interactions between the masonry leaves were assumed in the analyses. Some conclusions on the safety of the temples in its past and current conditions are drawn; also, the influence of the models employed to describe the interaction between the different masonry layers is discussed.