Welding and Joining Processes
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this materials science course examining welding and joining from the standpoint of underlying physical and chemical mechanisms rather than shop technique. Topics include cold welding, adhesive bonding, diffusion bonding, soldering, and brazing, along with heat sources ranging from flames and arcs to high-energy density methods. The course covers solidification behavior, cracking resistance, shielding methods, and electric contacts, treating each process as a science problem: how heat, diffusion, and chemistry combine to join materials. It corresponds to the first half of MIT's graduate subject 3.371J. Materials consist of MIT's standard OCW offering for this subject, drawn from actual course content rather than a promotional summary. Suited to students with a materials engineering background who want the physics and chemistry behind welding rather than equipment operation.