WHEEL LEAN AUTOMATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELF-PROPELLED WORK VEHICLES

Systems and methods are disclosed herein for automatically controlling wheel lean in a work vehicle (e.g., a motor grader) comprising a front portion with an axle and a plurality of traction wheels configured to lean at a wheel-lean angle relative thereto. Based on output signals from one or more sensors mounted on the work vehicle, work conditions are detected comprising an actual wheel-lean angle of at least one wheel relative to the axle, an oscillation angle of the axle, and a slope of the terrain. In automatic control operations, wheel lean is automatically directed to a predetermined orientation (e.g., corresponding to a direction of gravity), based at least on detected work conditions. Wheel lean may further be automatically directed based on detected steering inputs for positioning of the traction wheels and a detected articulation angle for positioning of the front portion of the work vehicle relative to the rear portion.