IN PROGRESS

Riverdale Country School gives students the opportunity to conduct and independent study in the field of their choosing. All independent studies require approval from the dean of the class, the dean of faculty and the head of school. During my independent study, I worked with one other student to convert a gas-powered golf cart into an electric vehicle.

Due to COVID and remote learning, we were unable to finish the project entirely, but the project is being continued by current high school students. This page details the progress we made.

2020-2021 School Year:

• Put together an 18 by 20 cell battery back of 18650 batteries

• Connected our battery pack to the charger, DC/DC converted, two motor controllers and a battery management system.

• Cut an old golf cart in half, extended the frame to increase functionality and welded it back together.

• Designed a CAD model for a motor mount to attach our electric motors to the existing frame.

This is unfortunately all we were able to get done in our short time on campus during the pandemic. However, we sent our motor mount CAD model to a machinist the week of graduation and during the summer he fabricated the mounts for us. Everything is drawn up and put together in small components, we were just unable to mound it all to the golf cart. This will be done by current students at some point in 2021.

Summer 2020:

• Interviewed maintenance and security teams at Riverdale to determine build and operation requirements

• Calculated motor requirements based off needs of Riverdale staff

• Found motors for purchase

• Created wiring schematic for motors, controllers, battery management system, DC/DC converter and battery pack

Contact:

As always, please contact me with feedback and questions at:

Email: afrieds@umich.edu

Phone: 917-860-4665