I kinda worded that badly. Wing mounted engines help change the mode shaped and natural frequency of the wings to a more desireable value. That'd be more accurate.
What about wing mounted engines reduce the maximum deflection of the wings during dynamic loading, since they are placed on a node of the mode shapes. I think that's an important one for design decisions.
There are 3 diffrent types of stress you should consider for the plate: tensile, bearing, and shear stress (tear out). DTM describes the bearing stress of the bolt acting on the plate. Tear out should be fine if you follow the standards, but it's good to check anyway.
How far in depth do you want to go? You could write a program to calculate the net up/down force that results from flow over geometry that you input. This method basically calculates the pressure coefficient at each geometry point and integrates it over the surface to determine a net force...
Wouldn't you place the strain gauges on the plate next to the beam. Not directly behind the beam attachment face. That attachment face isn't bending.
It'll be interesting to see how the FEA compares to the hand calc. Please let us know.
Here's some advice from someone who has been down this path. APPLY FOR EVERYTHING you can find, there's no space to be picky. You will spend so much time applying and being rejected from stuff that you won't care which type of job you do. You'll be happy you have one. Trust me. It's a tough...
If I was doing this, I'd trust the simulation more than any theoretical hand calculations. I've done something similar to this for work, but with something bolted to a corrugated steel sheet. To simplify the simlation, you can use simple statics to calculate the forces at the wall. Then just...
I don't really understand what you're trying to get into. Robotic systems is more mechatronic (electrical and mechanical) than aerospace. I can only help you with the Australian university requirements, other countries are different. I almost did a PhD in aerospace engineering, but it just isn't...
In order to create the tunnel, you'd have to stop the flow of molten material at the Earth's core, thus interupting the Earth's magnetic field. So in order to conduct your experiment, you're killing an entire planet. Now that's an epic experiment.
That's kinda what structural engineering is... To be fair, we all envisioned doing something else before finishing our degrees. Me included, but that's how it goes. I'd personally stick with it while getting more experience and looking for something more to your liking. Two years isn't enough to...