The most important manufacturing process in the energy industry is welding. The generation of thermal energy in welding happens through friction between the workpiece, plastic deformation of the workpieces, and the welding tool.

Most of the thermal plants are large industrial installations useful for generating electricity on a vast scale. These thermal power plants use a wide range of fuels to process heating liquid and convert them to steam. The steam generator or a boiler is the most integral part of a thermal plant. It burns the fuel to generate heat, which upon transferring to water converts to steam, which is boiling.

In power generation, from both existing as well as new plants, materials play a vital role. Coal, nuclear, and oil/ gas are energy supplies. The designing of high-efficiency power plants presently requires materials with an improved mechanical property and should be corrosion resistant even under elevated temperature, aggressive gaseous environment, and stress—most of these materials need welding during their initial fabrication and plant maintenance stage. Again, the severe strain and thermal cycles associated with welding can produce large gradients, usually associated with some detrimental changes to material properties.