1.0 Introduction
This book has been mainly developed for civil engineers. For more than a century, civil engineering
students have been taught the design of reinforced concrete structures and riveted steel structures.
Welded construction was relatively novel in the 1920s and 1930s, but really took off during the Second
World War. To provide the basic design knowledge of welding during those years of rapid
development, the Canadian Welding Bureau, in the late 1940s, undertook the task of disseminating the
knowledge of welding construction. The Bureau compiled and administered a series of
correspondence home study courses, known all over the world, which form the foundation of the
CWB/Gooderham Centre for Industrial Learning home study modules today.
This volume encompasses the educational materials developed during the past five decades and
specifically directs it toward civil engineering applications. Efforts have been made to condense vast
amounts of technological information into this volume. Additional reading materials have been
referenced at the end of each chapter for the reader to pursue further study.
The following news item appeared in the Engineering New Record in 1985 and 1987. It is a reminder
to our fellow engineers of what could happen with a seemingly correct decision, but one made without
thorough understanding of the implications of structural application.
In 1985 in Uster near Zurich, Switzerland, the collapse of a suspended concrete
ceiling over an indoor swimming pool resulted in 12 people killed and 2 injured.
Two years later the investigators reported that the acidic vapour (containing chlorine
ions) coated the stainless steel hangers supporting the ceiling and led to pitting,
stress corrosion and cracking. This problem has been written up in books which
are well known among welding and corrosion engineers, but the typical structural
engineers would not have these references. The design engineer should have called
an expert when dealing with materials outside their experience, so said the expert.
The lesson of this story is the importance of having a knowledge of welding engineering. The design
engineers should be familiar with it as they are with concrete. Hopefully, after studying this volume, the
reader should be able to solve welding problems, or otherwise know when it’s necessary to consult a
welding expert.
The main purpose of this book is to be used both as a primer for civil engineers who are searching for
welding knowledge, and as an important sourcebook for welding information.