QoS analysis of routing protocols in wireless sensor networks in the monitoring of wind farms

Abstract

The rising global demand of energy and the scarcity of fossil fuels can be mentioned as factors that justify the investment in renewable energies sources in the world, such as the wind power. Wind power has tremendous potential to provide renewable energy without reliance on traditional fossil fuel technologies. Conditional monitoring of wind turbines can help to avert unplanned downtime due to component failure, and this can be done via low-cost wireless sensor networks. This paper presents the Quality of Service (QoS) analysis in the monitoring of wind farms by using Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard using hierarchical and flat routing protocols through a simulated environment in the presence and absence of faults in the nodes. The results presented in this paper will assist in choosing the best protocol that guarantees the best response time of the system and consequently, improving the safety margin, preventing accidents that can damage the equipment and cause huge losses.