Hierarchical clustering and routing protocol to ensure scalability and reliability in large-scale wireless sensor networks

Cluster-based routing protocols have been proven efficient in prolonging the life cycle of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Periodic and multi-hop clustering are the most popular techniques which provide the required energy-efficient communication and scalability in large-scale WSNs. In clustering, WSN is divided into number of clusters, and cluster head is selected in each cluster. However, in the existing clustering protocols, CH's near base station undergoes large number of receiving, aggregating and transmitting operations in comparison with far away CHs. This imbalance of load on CHs and lack of structured multi-level clustering framework leads to early death of WSNs. Moreover, resolving the issues of scalability and data reliability along with load balancing is a very tedious task. In this paper, a hierarchical clustering and routing (HCR) protocol is proposed to formulate a load-balanced approach for clustering while taking care of energy efficiency, reliability and scalability. Firstly, a hierarchical layered framework is created to split the WSN into virtual circular layers for efficient transmission of data in hierarchical fashion. Subsequently, an ant lion optimizer is employed for the selection of CHs to ensure reliable, energy balanced and scalable cluster formation. Simulation results demonstrate that HCR protocol outperforms existing state-of-the-art clustering protocols in terms of network lifetime, balanced clustering, throughput and energy efficiency.