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Model predictive control guided imitation learning for optimal control of PCM thermal energy storage
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Civil and Architectural Engineering, Building Technology and Design.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5916-7890
National Research Council (CNR) of Italy, Institute for Advanced Energy Technologies (CNR-ITAE), 98126 Messina, Italy.
National Research Council (CNR) of Italy, Institute for Advanced Energy Technologies (CNR-ITAE), 98126 Messina, Italy.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9330-7666
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Division Digital Systems, Computer Science, Isafjordsgatan 22, Kista 164 40, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5091-6285
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2026 (English)In: Applied Thermal Engineering, ISSN 1359-4311, E-ISSN 1873-5606, Vol. 295, article id 130741Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The integration of Phase Change Material (PCM) storage with Heat Pump (HP) systems offers significant potential for demand-side flexibility but presents challenges in control due to complex thermodynamics during phase change. To overcome the computational burden of online optimization and the training instability of model-free reinforcement learning, this study proposes a novel framework utilizing Model Predictive Control (MPC)-guided Imitation Learning (IL). A high-fidelity Functional Mock-Up Unit (FMU) is employed to simulate the PCM-HP integration, where an MPC expert agent generates optimal control trajectories. Two IL agents, Behavior Cloning (BC) and Generative Adversarial Imitation Learning (GAIL), are trained to mimic this expert under dynamic pricing signals. While both IL agents are able to learn the load-shifting behaviors, GAIL outperforms BC in generalization. BC suffers from limited robustness in unobserved states, whereas GAIL captures the underlying policy distribution, achieving Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of approximately 9% during testing. This framework successfully bridges model-based and model-free paradigms, offering a scalable, real-time control alternative that retains optimality without requiring complex physical modeling during deployment.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV , 2026. Vol. 295, article id 130741
Keywords [en]
Demand-side management, Energy flexibility, Imitation Learning, Model predictive control, PCM storage
National Category
Control Engineering Energy Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-380044DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2026.130741ISI: 001730704700001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105033653848OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-380044DiVA, id: diva2:2055462
Note

QC 20260424

Available from: 2026-04-24 Created: 2026-04-24 Last updated: 2026-04-24Bibliographically approved

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Chen, YangzheWang, Qian

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