An unequal clustering routing protocol for energy-heterogeneous wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Unbalanced energy consumption in heterogeneous wireless sensor networks (HWSNs) results in the “energy-hole” problem. In this paper, a novel Energy-Balanced Unequal Clustering Protocol (EBUCP) is proposed to address the energy-hole problem. In EBUCP, three kinds of sensor nodes named normal nodes, advanced nodes and super nodes are deployed in a circular region which is divided into multilayer rings. Based on the optimal number of cluster heads and the definition of energy balance, the unequal cluster radius in each layer can be obtained by EBUCP. Also, EBUCP ensures no isolated node exists in the process of cluster formation. Simulation results demonstrate that, by taking the advantage of unequal clustering and energy heterogeneity, EBUCP achieves better performance in terms of stable period and network throughput.