Tie Beam – Concealed Beam

In civil engineering there are several simple technical terms that might become a confusing nightmare for students.  One of these terms is “tie beam”. So the question is “what are  tie beams?”

Actually tie beam is quite self-explanatory. It’s a beam which is mainly designed to tie different parts of the structure. consider a building subjected to earthquake loading. As you can see in the figure below,  making an additional constraint by tie beams, harmonize the overall deformation of the structure and prevent its collapse.

In other words, tie beams are constructed to fix the distance of two points and to prevent the irregular deformations. They are not designed to carry vertical load, but to resist against axial and shear loads.

They are usually designed a bit higher than the ground level. The upper sides of a tie beam is called the plinth level. And plinth height is the distance between the ground level and the plinth level.

You can also watch a short video we have provided to see the tie beams details on the field as well as on the structural maps.