Resistive braking via screed heating

A paving system for laying a paving material on a roadbed, the paving system comprising:

• a tractor having an engine and a drive train, the drive train being driven by one or more hydraulic motors;
• a hydraulic supply system driven by the engine, the hydraulic supply system including a hydraulic pump and one or more control valves for controlling the flow of hydraulic fluid to and from the one or more hydraulic motors;
• a machine deceleration system actuatable by an operator command;
• a screed assembly including one or more heating elements for heating the paving material;
• an electrical generator configured to provide electrical power to the one or more heating elements;
• and
• a controller communicatively linked to the electrical generator, hydraulic supply system, and machine deceleration system, configured to cause energy to be transferred from the one or more hydraulic motors of the drive system to the hydraulic pump, from the hydraulic pump to the generator, and from the generator to the one or more heating elements in the event that the machine deceleration system is actuated when a speed of the machine exceeds a predetermined threshold.

A tractor for pulling a paving screed having one or more electrically powered screed heater elements, the tractor comprising:

• an engine and a drive train, the drive train being driven by one or more hydraulic motors;
• a hydraulic supply system driven by the engine;
• a machine deceleration system actuatable by an operator command;
• an electrical generator configured to provide electrical power to the one or more heating elements;
• and
• a controller communicatively linked to the electrical generator, hydraulic supply system, and deceleration system, configured to cause energy to be transferred from the one or more hydraulic motors of the drive system to the hydraulic pump, from the hydraulic pump to the generator, and from the generator to the one or more heating elements in the event that actuation of the machine deceleration system occurs at a machine speed exceeding a predetermined threshold.