Quasi centralized clustering approach for an energy-efficient and vulnerability-aware routing in wireless sensor networks

In this paper, we propose a Quasi-Centralized Clustering Approach (QCCA), in which Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) partition into disjoint and equal-sized cells. Each cell has a powerful node, which acts as a cluster head. Hence, we consider a heterogeneous cluster-based WSN, which consists of two types of nodes: powerful clusterheads and ordinary sensor nodes. It leverages the advantages of small transmit distances for most nodes, requiring only a few nodes to transmit far distances to the base station. It completely eliminates redundant transmissions by ensuring, via carrier sensing (CSMA-CA), only one head sensor in each cell transmits and communicates with the sink, which can be either mobile or stationary. This approach reduces both energy consumption and communication bandwidth requirements, and prolongs the lifetime of the WSN. Simulation results show that a large amount of energy is saved using this strategy.