Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)

Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), or stick welding, strikes an arc between a flux-coated consumable electrode and the work; the coating decomposes to a shielding gas and a protective slag over the cooling weld. It needs no external gas, so it suits site, repair, and out-of-position work in erected blocks and on the berth where wind would disperse a gas shield. Low-hydrogen basic electrodes such as AWS A5.1 E7018 are mandatory on H36 hull steel to keep diffusible hydrogen under 16 ml per 100 g and avoid cold cracking. Deposition is slower than GMAW or SAW, so SMAW is the fall-back, not the main panel-line process.