3 Phase Forward Reverse

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Francois Korf

Now that we have had a look at some basic interlocking of an electrical circuit, let's take a
look at how you can put this to use. The circuit below is that of a three phase forward reverse.
In this circuit we have gone for the very basic interlocking on the electrical only and there are
some additional things we can do with this circuit. For now however, we will focus on the
circuit as it is.

Before looking at the circuit, you will know that to change direction of a three phase motor
you need to swap any two phases. To explain that better, you have the red phase connected to
U1, the white phase to V1 and the blue phase to W1. You need to change the direction of the
motor so what you will do is connect the red phase to W1, the white  phase to V1 and the
blue phase  to U1

If we look at the power circuit below, you will note that is exactly what this circuit will do for
you by simply changing from one contact or to the other.

In order for us to go from one direction to the other, we will need the control circuit set up to
give us that flexibility. Look at the circuit below and notice that I have used a single stop,
forward and reverse to control the motor. In the forward line we have a normally closed
contact of the reverse contactor and in the reverse line, a normally closed contact of the
forward contactor. That means if the motor is running forward, you will not be able to start it
in reverse until you have stopped it first. Have a play with the circuit and if there is
something that does not make sense, let me know and I will explain more

Please note that in some applications you may find the contactors being mechanically
interlocked as well. That merely means that you do not just rely on the electrical interlock for
the changeover. What I will do in a future segment is to include something else into this
circuit sometimes known as "plugging control" and you would find this sort of application on
overhead cranes as an example.

For now though, have a look and see if it all makes sense to you. Remember, always work
safe, your life depends on it
Forward / Reverse start of 3-phase AC motor

The speed of a three-phase AC electric motor is defined in rotations per minute (rpm). For example,
if the motor's declared speed is 1500 rpm, that means that when the motor is running in the
stacionary mode of operation it has 1500 rotations per minute in a given direction. The direction of
the rotation of the motor can be clockwise or vice versa. If we send three phases R, S and T on the
poles of the motor, then the motor will be running in one given direction. To change the direction of
rotation of the motor we need to change two phases of the motor. So, if the voltage poles of the
motor are A, B, and C, and if we provide phase R to pole A, phase S to pole B and phase T to pole C,
than the rotation of the motor will be in one given direction, which we call forward direction of
rotation (for example, clockwise direction). Now, if we change (switch) any two phases of the motor,
we will change the direction of the rotation. If we provide phase R to pole C, phase S to pole B and
phase T to pole A (switch the phases of poles A and C), the rotation of the motor will be opposite
from the previous. For this purpose, we need two contactors. The connection of the energy contacts
of the contactors is shown on Picture 1.

Picture 1: Forward / Reverse connection of 3-phase AC motor

The schematic of this energy circuit is classic. All three phases R, S and T are protected with fuses e1,
e2 and e3. Usualy, these fuses are slow, and the nominal current for which they break off the circuit
is chosen according to the nominal current of the motor for the given supply voltage. After fuses, the
phases are send through the proper connection of the energy contacts of contactors c1 and c2,
which will provide forward/reverse rotation of the motor. In this circuit, the motor is also protected
with overcurrent protection e4 (thermal overload relay or motor starter protector). The energy
contacts of the contactors, 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6 are normally open, and if the voltage is provided on the
contactors coils (a-b), the energy contacts are closed and the current is passing through them. In
order to achieve a forward/reverse rotation of the motor, the energy contacts are connected as
follow: when contactor c1 is ON and c2 is OFF, the phase R is sent to the first pole of the motor
through the energy contact 2-1 of the contactor c1, the phase S is sent to the second pole of the
motor through contact 4-3, and the phase T is sent through the contact 6-5 to the third pole of the
motor. In this case, the motor is running in forward rotation. When contactor c1 is OFF and c2 is ON,
the phases R and T switched their places, so now, phase R is sent to the third pole of the motor
through the contact 2-1 of the contactor c2, the phase S is sent to the second pole through the
contact 4-3 (remains the same), and the phase T is sent to the first pole through the contact 6-5. So,
in this case, we have switched the first and third phase on the motor, thus the motor is running in
reverse rotation. Here is good to mention that contactors c1 and c2 need to operate in some kind of
blockade mode, which means when the contactor c1 is ON, the c2 must be OFF, and vice versa,
when the c2 is ON, the c1 must be OFF. This way, we prevent the short-circuiting of two phases. The
control circuit for this energy system can be implemented in different ways. On Picture 2 is shown
one configuration of the control circuit.

Picture 2: Control circuit for forward/reverse start of 3-phase AC motor

The control circuit is very simple and it provides basic functionality and protection for the
forward/reverse connection of 3-phase AC motor. First, the fuse e5 provides over-current protection
of the control circuit. Here, the control circuit has working voltage of 230 V AC (50 Hz), which means
that the contactor coils are 230 V AC operated. In case of use of the DC voltage operating contactors
(for example, contactor with 24 V DC coil voltage), the control circuit should remains the same, but
the only change will be power supply voltage for the circuit (instead of phase R there will be + 24 V
DC voltage, and instead of null N there will be 0 V DC or ground). Depending on power supply
voltage (current) for operating with contactor coils, the proper fuse e5 should be chosen. After fuse
e5, the control signal is passed through the NC contact from the motor overcurrent protection e4.
This contact is closed when the protection relay is off, which means that the current that motor
consumes is not above the maximum. If the motor start to consume current which is greater than its
nominal current and it is above the value that is set on the motor protector, then the protection
relay is activated, and the contact e4 in control circuit will be open. Thus, the control circuit will be
interrupted, so, the motor is out of power and it is protected from over-current. After the contact
from protection e4, the control signal is passed through the switch b1. This switch is for starting the
motor. Actually, the motor can be started with one of the key switches b2 or b3, but first, the switch
b1 must be in position I (ON). The rest of the control circuit, is the most interesting and important
part. The coils of the contactors c1 and c2 are combined with their NO/NC contacts and key switches
b2 and b3 in the way that motor can be run only in forward or only in reverse direction of rotation.
In this part of the control circuit is implemented the bockade between the contactors c1 and c2. The
first line of this circuit provides operating voltage to the coil of the contactor c1 (a-b). The line starts
with parallel connection of the key switch b2 and the normally open contact of c1 (13-14). Then the
line continues with the normally closed contact of the contactor c2 (11-12) and ends with the coil of
the contactor c1. The second line provides operating voltage to the coil of the contactor c2 (a-b).
This line starts with parallel connection of the key switch b3 and the normally open contact of c2
(13-14). Then the line continues with the normally closed contact of the contactor c1 (11-12) and
ends with the coil of the contactor c2.

Now let's see how this control circuit works. The protection relay is set to a given maximum current
for the motor and the contact is closed, so, the control voltage is provided to the switch b1, which is
in position 0 (off). If we turn on the switch (position I), we provide the control voltage to the parallel
lines with coils of c1 and c2, which are both off at this moment. Now, we can start the motor in
forward or in reverse direction of rotation. To start the motor in forward direction we should press
the key switch b2. For this short time interval when b2 is pressed, the voltage is provided to the coil
of c1, the c1 is turn on, and it will remains on through its own NO contact (13-14), which is now
closed because c1 is ON. Now, if we want to change the direction of the motor from forward to
reverse, before pressing the key switch b3 we should turn off the motor with turning the switch b1
into position 0, and then put back in position I. Otherwise, if we don't do Off -> On operation with
switch b1 first, then pressing the key switch b3 during the motor is running in forward direction of
rotation will change nothing in energy circuit, because the contactor c2 is blocked with the NC
contact (11-12) from the contactor c1, which in this case is open because c1 is ON. The same
principle of operation applies in the opposite situation when the motor is running in reverse
direction.

Finally, the only bad thing about this control circuit is that every time when we want to change the
direction of rotation of the motor we must first turn it off, and then turn it on again and start with
the proper direction. This can be solved with adding the extra logic in the control circuit, but that is
another discussion. Here, the point was to implement correct system for forward/reverse start of 3-
phase AC motor, which will be functional and simple. Of course, things can always be improved.

Posted by mihailmk

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