The structures associated with welding process are commonly found in various industrial applications due to technical and economic reasons.In this study,a structure design problem having the characteristic of welding process is attempted to be solved by using a new computational approach for simulating static load carrying capacity of the structure coupled with the effect of welding residual stress.First,the MIG welding process is simulated with a nonlinear heat transfer model for prediction of welding residual stresses.Then the approach incorporates the residual stresses into the service loading predictions.specified the welding residual stress and strain as the initial state in a subsequent finite element(FE) simulation of static load.The results of the approach are compared based on their magnitude and distribution of stresses and deformation to make analysis and design of welded structures and material selection.The results obtained from the new coupled approach as a generally applicable method for structure design performs more practical.