RICCARDO LICCIARDELLO

MOST Spoke 4 tests under way

(update 11/03/2025)

SAPIENZA's Railway Engineering Research Group is working within the National Centre on Sustainable Mobility (MOST) on "Innovations in on-board and wayside condition monitoring systems to support railway business". We are leading the "innovation in freight transport" work package, as well as the on-board monitoring task. 

Test activity has started in:

• Matera, on RFI's Track Recording Vehicle "Caronte", thanks to partner MERMEC FERROSUD, to further develop concepts proposed by SAPIENZA and the other partners (POLIMI, UNIFI, UNINA, CNR) aiming towards the improvement of Condition-Based Maintenance of trains and track by using advanced sensor technology coupled with cutting-edge model-based and Machine Learning techniques for signal analysis; test runs were held last week, in which different novel optical and inertial sensor setups were tested;

• Maddaloni - Marcianise intermodal freight yard, along Mercitalia Shunting&Terminal's private sidings, to further develop a concept proposed by SAPIENZA for the innovative use of the Weighing-In-Motion technology previously developed in-house; this research aims towards the improvement of Condition-Based Maintenance and safety of the freight wagons managed by Mercitalia Intermodal.

Argomenti disponibili per Tesi di Laurea Magistrale, in collaborazione con Italferr S.p.A.

Topics for Master's Thesis, in collaboration with Italferr S.p.A.

(update 03/06/2025)

Railway on-board Condition-Monitoring Systems: multi-body simulation to assess innovative methods

The objective of the work is to generate quantitative assessment data for the systems currently under experimental development in DICEA for the MOST national centre. The work consists of generating computer models of railway vehicles incorporating "virtual" Condition-Monitoring Systems, running the vehicle models over selected tracks, validating against experimental results, and comparing the performance of different innovative monitoring strategies.

Driverless metro: concept design and technical specification

The objective of the work is to formulate the technical specifications of the rolling stock for a driverless metro system, considering all its interfaces with the other railway subsystems (signalling, track, telecommunications, stations etc.). The work will start with the analysis of high-level employer requirements (capacity, maximum speed etc.) as well as of the “proven-design” railway products capable of meeting the requirements in conjunction with the relevant standards. The product specifications will then be tailored to the specific client needs thus defining the final concept.

Rail vehicle market innovations: standardisation barriers and opportunities

The objectives of the work are: to identify, list and describe recent and upcoming innovations on the rail vehicle market (e.g., hydrogen and hybrid traction drives, solar power, active suspensions, etc.); to short-list the technologies of major interest; to critique the costs/benefits as stated by the manufacturers with a quali-quantitative analysis; to identify within the standardisation&regulatory framework (TSI Loc&Pas, EN standards) the critical aspects affecting the introduction of the short-listed technologies; to formulate proposals on the application of the standards and/or on required changes.

Professore associato presso il DICEA, ha conseguito il dottorato in ingegneria ferroviaria nel 2002. Nei suoi primi anni di ricerca si è occupato principalmente di interazione veicolo-via, e tra il 2003 e il 2012 è stato docente a contratto di Tecnica ed economia di trasporti, Dinamica dei veicoli, e Sicurezza dei trasporti presso l'Università di Firenze e SAPIENZA Università di Roma. È stato consulente del Ministero dei Trasporti in qualità di esperto ferroviario dal 2004 al 2011 e perito del tribunale nel 2011 per il tragico incidente ferroviario di Viareggio del 2009. Dal 2012 al 2016 è stato Direttore Tecnico della DITS (spin-off SAPIENZA). E' membro attivo del comitato di redazione della rivista "Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit" (SAGE Publishers, Londra, IF 2.359) e deicomitati organizzatori di diverse conferenze internazionali. Attualmente è docente nei corsi di “Railway Engineering” e "Public Transport Management" (in inglese), nonché responsabile scientifico del Laboratorio di Veicoli e Sistemi di Trasporto. Dal 2007 ad oggi è attivo principalmente in progetti di ricerca europei, solitamente in qualità di responsabile di gruppo internazionale di ricerca. Ha affrontato numerose e importanti tematiche dell’ingegneria ferroviaria, tra cui aerodinamica dei treni (AeroTRAIN), dinamica di marcia (DynoTRAIN), interazione pantografo catenaria (PantoTRAIN), Impact Assessment del settore ferroviario (vari studi a supporto delle politiche europee dei trasporti ferroviari), segnalamento ferroviario (IN2RAIL, VITE), materiale rotabile innovativo (RUN2Rail), esercizio del trasporto ferroviario di merci (OptiYard), cuscinetti volventi per treni AV (GEARBODIES), diagnostica del binario (UIC Harmotrack). Oltre a quest'ultimo aspetto, negli ultimi tre anni sta seguendo nell'ambito del Centro Nazionale per la Mobilità Sostenibile progetti sulla diagnostica di veicolo, manutenzione predittiva del binario, automazione degli scali merci ferroviari.