ABSTRACT
The invention of electric welding 100 years ago may not have seemed a very significant event to the structural engineer at the time. Indeed, the idea that a magician with a sparkling 3 mm diameter wand could wave it across a large structural joint and make it disappear would have been incredible even to a blacksmith, let alone a mason, bricklayer or carpenter. And yet for the metal working industry this dream actually came true. Today, many millions of tonnes of welded metal structures are built every year. There is also an increasing confidence in the reliability and durability of such structures.
