The Automatic Regulation, Control, Operation and Protection I&C System (ARCOP) was developed to replace obsolete equipment and the control and protection system (CPS) with up-to-date hardware. Additionally, this modernization project brought the control and protection system into full compliance with the requirements of regulatory documents.

The main goals of this project were to increase the safety and the reliability of nuclear plant systems, improve system serviceability, reduce maintenance costs, reduce the likelihood of human errors, and continue the service life of individual safety-related systems.

ARCOP I&C System performs the following functions: 

• monitoring of neutron physical reactor parameters;
• automatic control of neutron flux power;
• implementation of reactor emergency protection algorithms;
• implementation of warning algorithms;
• controls the operation of control and protection system;
• measurement and control of process parameters;
• remote control of actuators (valves, pumps, fans);
• collecting, processing, and archiving of process parameters of the reactor facility while on-line;
• collecting diagnostic information;
• displaying process and diagnostic information.

The ARCOP I&C system was designed and manufactured in 2006.

The fundamental principle of ARCOP I&C System control channel generation is ensuring the stability of the system in case of any deviations from normal operating conditions. The connections between the hardware components are made with digital optical communication channels, which provides high immunity and reliability to the ARCOP I&C System operation as a whole.

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), which provide high degrees of reliability and simplicity, are used in the unit circuit design.