MULTI-LEVEL HETEROGENEITY-AWARE ENERGY-EFFICIENT CLUSTERING TECHNIQUE FOR WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are gaining popularity owing to their applications in diverse fields due to availability of low-cost, low-powered miniature components and their enormous capabilities to reach inaccessible fields. In this paper, a multilevel framework for heterogeneous WSNs has been proposed that decides the value of heterogeneity parameters for allotment of number of nodes and initial node energy at each level in a realistic manner. It also provides a common platform for researchers to analyze their protocol. To validate the proposed framework, Heterogeneity-aware Energy-efficient Clustering (HEC) technique is modified to develop multi-level HEC (M-HEC) technique. This technique is evaluated and analyzed at seven different energy levels for different performance metrics. The stability period of the M-HEC technique improves with increasing number of heterogeneity levels in general. An improvement of about 215%, 332%, 444%, 355%, 363%, and 368% was observed with each successive addition of heterogeneity level from level-2 onwards.