June 9, 2023
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Article

Rapid Parametric CAx Tools for Modelling Morphing Wings of Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs)

Publicated to: AEROSPACE. 10 (5): 467- - 2023-05-17 10(5), DOI: 10.3390/aerospace10050467

Authors:

Rodriguez-Sevillano, Angel Antonio; Casati-Calzada, Maria Jesus; Bardera-Mora, Rafael; Nieto-Centenero, Javier; Matias-Garcia, Juan Carlos; Barroso-Barderas, Estela
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Affiliations

Inst Nacl Tecn Aerosp INTA, Torrejon De Ardoz 28850, Madrid, Spain - Author
Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid UPM, Escuela Tecn Super Ingn Aeronaut & Espacio ETSIAE, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author
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Abstract

This paper shows a series of tools that help in the research of morphing micro air vehicles (MAVs). These tools are aimed at generating parametric CAD models of wings in a few seconds that can be used in aerodynamic studies, either via CFD directly using the model obtained or via wind tunnel through rapid prototyping with 3D printers. It also facilitates the analysis of morphing wings by allowing for the continuous parametric deformation of the airfoils and the wing geometry. In addition, one of the tools greatly simplifies the purely experimental design of this type of vehicle, allowing the transfer of experimental measurements to the computer, generating virtual models with the same deformation as the physical model. This software has two fundamental parts. The first one is the parameterization of the airfoils, for which the CST (Class-Shape Transformation) method will be used. CST coefficients can be modified according to the actuator variable that changes the wing geometry. The second part is the generation of a three-dimensional parametric model of the wing. We used OpenCASCADE technology in its Python version called PythonOCC, which enables the generation of geometries with good surface quality for typical and non-standard wing shapes. Finally, the use of this software for the study of a morphing aircraft will be shown, as well as improvements that could be incorporated in the future to increase its capabilities for the design and analysis of MAVs.
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Keywords

airfoil parameterizationcst (class-shape transformation)micro air vehicles (mavs)pythonoccAirfoil parameterizationCst (class-shape transformation)DesignMicro air vehicles (mavs)Morphing wingsPythonocc

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal AEROSPACE due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 14/52, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Engineering, Aerospace. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Aerospace Engineering.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.31. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-04-24, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 5
  • Scopus: 5
  • Google Scholar: 5
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-24:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 3.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 3 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 1.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/84980/

As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

  • Views: 129
  • Downloads: 187
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (RODRIGUEZ SEVILLANO, ANGEL ANTONIO) and Last Author (BARROSO BARDERAS, ESTELA).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been RODRIGUEZ SEVILLANO, ANGEL ANTONIO.

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