Threshold-driven K-means sector clustering algorithm for wireless sensor networks

The clustering algorithm is an effective method for developing energy efficiency routing protocol for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In clustered WSNs, cluster heads must handle high traffic, thus consuming more energy. Therefore, forming balanced clusters and selecting optimal cluster heads are significant challenges. The paper proposes a sector clustering algorithm based on K-means called KMSC. KMSC improves efficiency and balances the cluster size by employing symmetric dividing sectors in conjunction with K-means. For the selection of cluster heads (CHs), KMSC uses the residual energy and distance to calculate the weight of the node, then selects the node with the highest weight as CH. A hybrid single-hop and multi-hop communication is utilized to reduce long-distance transmissions. Furthermore, the impact of the number of sectors, the threshold for clustering, and the network size on the performance of KMSC has been explored. The simulation results show that KMSC outperforms EECPK-means, K-means, TSC, LSC, and SEECP in terms of FND, HND, and LND.