ABSTRACT
The following were the main objectives of the overall research:
a. Understanding the mechanism of stress development and subsequent distortion in stiffened panels due to welding.
1 INTRODUCTION
The challenges faced by present day shipbuilding industry are towards lowering the weight of the hull structure to gain in payload as well as to improve fuel efficiency. The lighter the structure lesser will be the power requirement for the required speed of operation. This has led to an extensive usage of thinner structural components making them more vulnerable to weld induced distortions. The major distortion pattern being buckling, it led to the so-called hungry horse look of the hull and superstructure.
