Fatigue and fracture assessment of butt welds Georgios Moraitis Master Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the double degree: “Advanced Master in Naval Architecture” conferred by University of Liege "Master of Sciences in Applied Mechanics, specialization in Hydrodynamics, Energetics and Propulsion” conferred by Ecole Centrale de Nantes developed at West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin in the framework of the “EMSHIP” Erasmus Mundus Master Course in “Integrated Advanced Ship Design” Ref. 159652-1-2009-1-BE-ERA MUNDUS-EMMC Supervisors: Prof. Maciej Taczala, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin Dr. Hubertus von Selle, Germanischer Lloyd SE Reviewer: Prof. Patrick Kaeding, University of Rostock Szczecin, February 2014