Hydraulic drive system and methods for an agricultural vehicle

A method for operating a drive system of an agricultural vehicle, the method comprising:

• receiving, from a sensor system, data indicative of a slip condition of a tractive element;
• detecting, with a computing system, the slip condition;
• generating, with the computing system, a high-frequency sinusoidal traction signal and superimposing the high-frequency sinusoidal traction signal onto a primary control signal provided to a control signal line fluidly coupled with a propulsion motor to alter a displacement of the propulsion motor, wherein the high-frequency sinusoidal traction signal comprises a waveform having a wavelength, an amplitude, and a crest-to-trough variation that modulates the displacement of the propulsion motor while maintaining partial slip to preserve tractive efficiency;
• and
• providing, through a hydraulic circuit, fluid flow to the control signal line based on the superimposed traction signal.

A drive system for an agricultural vehicle, the drive system comprising:

• a chassis;
• a power plant operably coupled with the chassis;
• a pump unit connected to the power plant and generating power through a flow of hydraulic fluid;
• a first tractive element operably coupled with the chassis;
• a first propulsion motor fluidly coupled with the pump unit and driving a first tractive force to the first tractive element by applying a first control signal proportional to a defined displacement to a control signal line;
• a second tractive element operably coupled with the chassis;
• a second propulsion motor fluidly coupled with the pump unit and driving a second tractive force to the second tractive element by applying a second control signal proportional to a defined displacement to a second control signal line;
• a sensor system capturing data indicative of a slip condition of the first tractive element or the second tractive element;
• and
• a computing system operably coupled with the sensor system, the first propulsion motor, and the second propulsion motor, the computing system:
• detecting a slip condition of the first tractive element or the second tractive element based on the data from the sensor system;
• generating and superimposing a high-frequency sinusoidal traction signal onto a primary control signal provided to a first control signal line fluidly coupled with a first propulsion motor to alter a displacement of the first propulsion motor;
• and
• providing fluid flow to the first control signal line based on the superimposed traction signal through a hydraulic circuit,
• wherein the high-frequency sinusoidal traction signal comprises a waveform having a wavelength, an amplitude, and a crest-to-trough variation that modulates the displacement of the first propulsion motor while maintaining partial slip to preserve tractive efficiency.