The trend towards more material and energy efficiency through lightweight design requires the use of high strength steels. These steels tend to form brittle mi-crostructures during welding processes and therefore, they are particularly susceptible to cold cracks. Cold cracks are from the quality point of view problematic. They arise in the welded joints during cooling when the local combination of brittle microstructure, tensile stresses and diffusible hydrogen reaches a critical limit.Link to Dissertation