What Is The Hidden Beam or Concealed Beam – Purpose & Advantages

Raja Junaid Iqbal

3 years ago

What is the hidden beam or concealed beam in a slab

What Is The Hidden Beam or Concealed Beam – Purpose & Advantages

Hidden beams is defined as the beams whose depth is equal to the thickness of the slab. It also called as concealed beam provided within the depth of supporting slabs. It is popular and form an essential part of modern reinforced concrete framed structures

Hidden beams are generally inserted within the suspended slabs where slab thickness is considerable. The concept of concealed beam originated from flat slab concept. They are more applicable in commercial buildings.

Purpose Of Hidden Beams:

Hidden beams are used for the following purposes

To disperse loads on the supporting slab.
To break a wide panel of slab to considerable size.
Around the cutouts
To improve architectural aesthetic appearance by providing neat and leveled ceiling surface.

Advantages of Hidden Beams

Hidden beam saves cost of form-work, labor, and materials
It saves on floor height clearance
It creates an acceptable aesthetic appearance which permits for efficient interior space partitioning

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1. What is a hidden beam or concealed beam in a slab?

The hidden beam is a structural member, whose depth is equal to the thickness of the slab.

In other words, the beam which is concealed in the slab & cannot be seen on the outer surface of the slab is called a hidden beam.

The hidden beam is also known as a concealed beam.

The width of the hidden beam is always greater than the depth of the beam.

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2. Why the hidden beams are provided in a slab?

The different reasons for providing a hidden beam in a slab are,

1. Flat ceiling:

The hidden beam helps in enhancing the aesthetic appearance of a building by providing a larger flat ceiling, that gives a wider space look to the room.

2. Headroom:

The hidden beam provides a clear headroom height to work on the interior false ceilings, without any beam obstructions.

3. Partition wall :

If the partition wall or brick wall comes over the slab, a hidden beam plays a major role in distributing the wall load, keeping the slab safe from the superimposed loads, that act over it.

4. Overhead tank:

Installation of the overhead tank ( larger capacity ) directly over the slab may develop cracks due to a higher concentrated load. If the water tank is rested over the hidden beam area, it helps to distribute the load to the adjacent supported beams.

Providing a hidden beam beneath the concentrated loads if any, that acts over the slab, helps to enhance the life span of the building.

What Is The Hidden Beam or Concealed Beam – Purpose & Advantages