You can use Hertz contact stress equations to estimate the flat dimension. If you find a contact stress equation for line contact, usually for two cylinders touching along their height with different radii you can set the radius of one of them to a very large value to represent the flat floor...
There are a few questions here. I think what you're missing is a time input, which I see you're trying to answer with a sine function. I expect the students will need help with the frequency of the sine function also as that will have an influence on the analysis results.
1. Yes SAP2000 can...
Make sure you can answer questions on what you included on your resume. We know it's likely your first job in engineering if you recently graduated so it's expected your resume will be more focused on school work than job experience. If you cannot tell me anything about projects you did in your...
For deflection, reinforcement comes in to play when calculating cracked moment of inertia. If service moment is less than the cracking moment, reinforcement will not contribute much to changing deflection. At L/600 you may be in this situation.
For higher grade bolts you can refer to the RCSC for more specific fatigue data. Some bolt manufacturers like Unbrako will have better more specific data also. The AISC category for 8.5 is very generic as it is applied to a wide range of threaded fasteners. Incidentally, if you pretension bolts...
Use free body diagrams.
Learn to anticipate the answer.
Be smart enough to make new mistakes.
Be cognizant of significant digits.
When in doubt, ask yourself "would I be proud to tell my mother [or other ethical/moral role model] that I did X".
Gravity always works.
Use the loads for intermediate rails. Calculate using cable theory. Assume sag is the max deflection allowed. Given that, it may be difficult or too costly to spend the time to calculate using chain link.
SAP2000 will check per the Chinese codes for seismic and structural steel design. Using GB50223 is up to the engineer, not the software. Note that you need to purchase a special license of SAP2000 in order to have the Chinese capabilities.
