ABSTRACT
This thesis is a study of residual stresses in arc welded butt joints and the effect of joint geometry and electrode type on the stresses. Three joint designs, the single- v, the double - v and square - butt joints have been considered. Two filler rods selected for this study are E6012 and E6013 of the American Voiding Society (AWS) classification. Each electrode type was used to weld the joint designs, by the electric arc process. The stress relaxation sectioning technique using electrical resistance strain gauges was used in taking the readings. The single - v joint was found to produce stresses of higher magnitude than the double - v and square - butt joints. The double - v and square - butt joints produced stresses of about the same magnitude. This study however showed that the two electrode types selected for the welding produced almost the same effect on the residual stresses.