Multibody simulation of flexible aircraft with variable sweep wingtips
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Preston, Ben
Fasel, Urban
Palacios, Rafael
Castrichini, Andrea
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
An investigation into variable-sweep wingtips for use on flexible aircraft is presented. A suitable flexible multibody formulation is first developed, which also includes prescribed rotation kinematics between flexible beam elements. This allows for the simulation of dynamic actuated wingtips for use within an aeroelastic simulation framework. Automatic differentiation is used to compute derivatives, thus allowing for a very convenient implementation for a range of multibody constraints. The use of the unsteady vortex lattice method for modeling swept wings where the paneling is misaligned with the flow is also investigated, all combined to give an analysis tool for flexible aircraft dynamics with actuated swept wingtips. Numerical results on representative configurations investigate the potential advantages of this unconventional solution, with gust load alleviation from sweeping back the wingtips observed when compared to the reference configuration. The effect of wingtip sweep on the aeroelastic stability characteristics of the aircraft is explored, which is seen to affect both the flutter speed and mechanism. Lastly, it was found that there are potential uses for dynamically sweeping the wingtips in flight, with a roll and pitching maneuver being demonstrated using opposing and symmetric sweeps, respectively.
Date Issued
2026-02-01
Date Acceptance
2025-09-02
Citation
AIAA Journal: devoted to aerospace research and development, 2026, 64 (2), pp.1-31
ISSN
0001-1452
Publisher
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Start Page
1
End Page
31
Journal / Book Title
AIAA Journal: devoted to aerospace research and development
Volume
64
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2025 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved. This is the author’s accepted manuscript made available under a CC-BY licence in accordance with Imperial’s Research Publications Open Access policy (www.imperial.ac.uk/oa-policy)
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2025-11-02