Energy Efficient Wireless Sensor Networks using Dual Cluster Head with Sleep/Active Mechanism

Abstract

Objectives: In wireless sensor networks, high energy consumption occurs when the generated data is transmitted to the base station. This high energy consumption affects the longevity of the network. In a wireless sensor network, the energy of sensor nodes is a scarce resource. To extend the lifetime of wireless sensor network, it is essential to reduce the energy consumption. Methods/Statistical Analysis: In the proposed work, the classical LEACH protocol clustering algorithm is enhanced with sleep/active schedule and a new algorithm namely ESDCH (Energy Saving Dual-Cluster Head) protocol is proposed to prolong the network lifetime. In the proposed ESDCH method, the sensor nodes are organized into clusters. The sensor nodes in each cluster set their states into sleep/active mode based on their residual energies. In lieu of selecting a single cluster-head, our protocol selects two cluster heads in each cluster based on their residual energies. Firstly, a Primary-CH is chosen which is having the highest energy level, and a Secondary-CH is chosen from the remaining nodes which is having energy level next to Primary-CH and also closer to the Primary-CH. Because of wireless transmission capability, Primary-CH is able to receive data from other sensor nodes. Using multi-hop communication, every Primary-CH can aggregate data within each cluster and send the aggregated data to the base station. The Secondary-CH assumes the role of CH whenever the Primary-CH fails in its purpose. The entire simulations are carried out using MATLAB environment. Findings: The performance results obtained using ESDCH and the LEACH protocols are matched and the superiority of ESDCH performance is evaluated. From the simulation results, we show that the proposed protocol marginally reduces the total energy consumption in the network. Also, the simulation results show that the number of live nodes in the network is increased, packet transmission delay reduced and packet delivery rate increased in the proposed method. Application/ Improvement: In the newly introduced dual cluster head protocol, it would be shown that the energy consumed is much less and hence the network’s lifetime is increased.