Energy-Balanced Unequal Clustering Routing Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), the clustering routing technology can improve the scalability of the network. When the cluster head transmits data to the base station in a multi hop manner, the residual energy of cluster head and path condition are not considered. So it can reduce the lifetime of cluster head and seriously affect the network lifetime. We propose an energy-balanced unequal clustering routing algorithm for wireless sensor networks. Firstly, the non-uniform clustering method is applied to the network. Secondly when calculating the cluster radius, the residual energy of nodes, the density of nodes and the distances between the nodes and base station will be taken into account. Then, the algorithm establishes the shortest path tree to search the optimal multi-hop transmission paths to realize efficient data transmission from sensor nodes to base station. Simulation results demonstrate that the improved algorithm can efficiently decrease the dead speed of the nodes, balance the energy dissipation of all nodes, and prolong the network lifetime.