The present work investigates the several welding variables developed due to transient temperature field during formation of butt joints by shielded metal arc (SMA) welding. Carslaw - Jaeger‟s mathematical model has been utilized to portray the variation of thermal conductivity with experimental peak temperature.  To validate the temperature distribution experiment has been conducted for making butt joint of high carbon steel (AISI 1090). The cooling rate along the longitudinal direction from the fusion boundary has been derived by using Adam‟s two dimensional mathematical model. Effect  of  cooling  rate  is  highlighted  by  results  produced  by  Scanning  Electron Microscope (SEM) images indicating the growth of crack. Distribution of surface heat flux has been estimated by implementation of Gaussian heat flux model.  Effort has been made to correlate the distortion in welded structures due to highly variable thermal cycle with proper validation by implementation of temperature dependent transverse shrinkage model.

Key words: Shielded metal arc welding, butt joint, high carbon steel, thermal history, cooling rate, transverse shrinkage