Product description 
  3.2 Functional principle of the SIRIUS 3RW30 and 3RW40 soft starters 
SIRIUS 3RW30 / 3RW40 
Manual, 10/2018, NEB535199502000/RS-AB/005 
27 
The SIRIUS 3RW30 and 3RW40 soft starters are two-phase controlled soft starters, in other 
words they are designed with two antiparallel thyristors in each of phases L1 and L3. Phase 
2 is an uncontrolled phase, which is merely guided through the starter by a copper 
connection.  
In a two-phase controlled soft starter, the current that results from the superimposition of the 
two controlled phases flows in the uncontrolled phase. The main advantages of two-phase 
control include the more compact size compared to a three-phase version and the lower 
hardware costs. 
The occurrence of DC components, caused by the phase angle and the overlapping phase 
currents, is a negative physical effect of two-phase control during the startup process that 
can mean a louder noise is produced by the motor. The "polarity balancing" control principle 
was developed and patented by SIEMENS to prevent these DC components during starting. 
 
Figure 3-4  Current characteristic and occurrence of DC components in the three phases without "polarity balancing" 
"Polarity balancing" effectively eliminates these DC components during the ramp-up phase. 
It allows the motor to be started up with a constant speed, torque, and current rise.  
The acoustic quality of the startup process comes very close to that of a three-phase 
controlled startup. This is made possible by the continuous dynamic alignment and balancing 
of current half-waves with different polarities during the motor startup. 
 
Figure 3-5  Current characteristic in the three phases without DC components thanks to "polarity balancing"