An Analytical Approach for Optimal Clustering Architecture for Maximizing Lifetime in Large Scale Wireless Sensor Networks

Many methods have been researched to prolong sensor network lifetime using mobile technologies. In the mobile sink research, there are the track based methods and the anchor points based methods as representative operation methods for mobile sinks. However, the existing methods decrease Quality of Service (QoS) and lead the routing hotspot in the vicinity of the mobile sink. In large scale wireless sensor networks, clustering is an effective technique for the purpose of improving the utilization of limited energy and prolonging the network lifetime. However, the problem of unbalanced energy dissipation exists in the multi-hop clustering model, where the cluster heads closer to the sink have to relay heavier traffic and consume more energy than farther nodes. In this paper we analyze several aspects based on the optimal clustering architecture for maximizing lifetime for large scale wireless sensor network. We also provide some analytical concepts for energy-aware head rotation and routing protocols to further balance the energy consumption among all nodes.