Prolonging the lifetime of wireless sensor networks interconnected to fixed network using hierarchical energy tree...

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Network Engineering

Background:

• Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are crucial for data collection but face challenges in energy efficiency and network longevity.
• Existing routing algorithms often struggle to balance energy consumption and data transmission effectively, leading to premature network failure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel mathematical model for predicting the lifetime of wireless sensor networks.
• To introduce an energy-efficient routing algorithm, Hierarchical Energy Tree based Routing Algorithm (HETRA), for WSNs.
• To enhance energy efficiency further by integrating an exponential congestion control algorithm (TCP/EXP) to minimize packet drops.

Main Methods:

• Development of a mathematical model for WSN lifetime prediction.
• Design of the HETRA algorithm, utilizing node energy levels to construct a hierarchical energy tree for efficient routing.
• Integration of the TCP/EXP algorithm to manage network congestion and reduce packet loss.
• Simulation of the proposed algorithms in ns2 across seven network distribution patterns for WSNs connected to a fixed network.

Main Results:

• The combination of HETRA and TCP/EXP demonstrated a significant increase in network lifetime across all tested distribution patterns.
• Simulation results indicated that HETRA alone increased network lifetime by approximately 3.2 times compared to the AODV algorithm.
• The proposed algorithms showed improvements in key performance metrics including throughput and data packet average network lifetime product.

Conclusions:

• The HETRA algorithm, augmented with TCP/EXP, provides a robust solution for extending the operational lifetime of wireless sensor networks.
• The proposed energy-efficient routing strategy effectively addresses the critical challenge of energy depletion in WSNs.
• The mathematical model and simulation results validate the superior performance of HETRA and TCP/EXP over existing methods like AODV.