Energy-efficient multi-hop communication scheme in clustered sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks can be used to monitor the interested region by multi-hop communication scheme. Since sensor nodes are equipped with energy-limited batteries, energy conservation in such networks is of paramount importance in order to prolong the network lifetime. In this paper, considering the constrained radio range of node, we present an energy-efficient communication scheme in a clustered hierarchy from the viewpoint of energy consumption. The difference between our scheme and previous schemes is that our approach is a non-uniform clustered hierarchy. Furthermore, the heterogeneous property of sensor nodes, i.e., the sensor node has different initial energy allocation, is also taken into account. With the algorithm proposed in this paper, we can divide a cluster into multiple non-uniform concentric rings and obtain the optimal thickness of each ring. Motivated by the derived results, every sensor node can adjust its radio range for communication. Numerical simulation results indicate that the proposed communication scheme within a cluster outperforms the conventional communication scheme in terms of energy consumption and cluster lifetime.