Milling Machine with Heat Exchanger Circuit

A method of operating a rotor drivetrain on a propelled milling machine, the method comprising:

• circulating a lubricant in a rotor drivetrain lubrication circuit operatively associated with the rotor drivetrain disposed between an internal combustion engine and a cutting rotor;
• sensing one or more operating parameters associated with the lubricant in the rotor drivetrain lubrication circuit;
• performing a lookup operation on a lookup table utilizing the one or more operating parameters to determine a desired flow state for the lubricant in a heat exchanger circuit;
• and
• regulating flow of the lubricant between a rotor drivetrain lubricant pump assembly and a rotor drivetrain lubricant heat exchanger in accordance with the desired flow state.

A heat exchanger circuit for lubricating a rotor drivetrain on a propelled milling machine, the heat exchanger circuit comprising:

• a rotor drivetrain lubrication circuit associated with the rotor drivetrain disposed between an internal combustion engine and a cutting rotor for milling a work surface;
• a lubricant reservoir for accommodating a lubricant;
• a rotor drivetrain lubricant heat exchanger in fluid communication with the lubricant reservoir and configured for thermal management of the lubricant;
• a rotor drivetrain lubricant pump assembly in fluid communication with the rotor drivetrain lubricant heat exchanger for pressurizing and directing the lubricant in the heat exchanger circuit;
• and
• a variable flow control valve disposed in operative association to adjust flow of the lubricant from the rotor drivetrain lubricant pump assembly to the rotor drivetrain lubricant heat exchanger.