Dual Mode Energy Minimized SCA-Levy Clustering Routing Algorithm for Multi-Hop WSNs

Abstract

Clustering is crucial in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for energy-aware routing, splitting networks into clusters, and optimizing routing paths based on factors like energy and distance. Many Clustering Routing Algorithms (CRAs) have emerged over the past decades. Amongst, a combined Sine Cosine Algorithm and Levy mutation (SCA-Levy)-based CRA was superior to others in terms of balanced energy use and increased network lifespan. But it causes Quality-of-Service (QoS) issues such as high delay during intra- and inter-cluster transmission when increasing the network size, or transmission range in multi-hop WSNs. This results in a tradeoff between energy utilization and delay was not effective. Hence, in this article, a Dual Mode energy-minimized SCA-Levy (DMSCA-Levy)-based CRA is proposed for multi-hop WSNs. Initially, the SCA-Levy process is executed during the setup phase to form the WSN clusters and choose the optimal Cluster Head (CH) in each cluster based on the node’s remaining energy and distance. Then, during the data transmission phase, a joint inter- and intra-cluster energy reduction approach is proposed to select the multi-hop path for transmitting data from nodes to the Base Station (BS). In this approach, an adaptive duty cycle assignment is applied in intra-cluster communication depending on the distance from the CH to the Cluster Member (CM) nodes, whereas the least energy-utilized path is selected in the inter-cluster transmission, leading to less energy utilization and delay in multi-hop WSNs. Moreover, the simulation results illustrate that the DMSCA-Levy achieves a higher network performance compared to the SCA-Levy and LEACH protocol variants.