IBRE-LEACH: Improving the Performance of the BRE-LEACH for Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks are extensively used in different fields, including severe and harsh environments such as battlegrounds, volcanic areas, healthcare, and so on. The major constraint of WSNs is the limited power supply, which impacts the lifecycle of the entire network. Clustering is a performing method used in WSNs to optimize power consumption and extend the lifetime of WSNs. LEACH is considered the first classical clustering protocol used in WSNs to optimize energy consumption. Many protocols have been developed to enhance the conventional LEACH protocol. BRE-LEACH (Balanced Residual Energy LEACH) is one of them. It is used to enhance the performance of the LEACH protocol. In this paper, we propose a new improved BRE-LEACH protocol called IBRE-LEACH (Improved Balanced Residual Energy LEACH), which improves the performance of the BRE-LEACH approach. The IBRE-LEACH combines clustering and multi-hop techniques. It selects CHs according to the residual energy and limits the maximum number of nodes in each cluster to balance the energy consumption. Thus, IBRE-LEACH allows the Abandoned Nodes to send their data to the BS. Furthermore, it routes the gathered data using CHs, ANs, and a root node, which is a node with maximum residual energy and minimum distance to the BS. The simulation results in MATLAB show that the IBRE-LEACH protocol increases the throughput, optimizes energy consumption, extends network lifetime, and ameliorates stability by 81.99%, 94.33%, and 91.47% compared to BRE-LEACH, LEACH-C, and LEACH, respectively.