Affect of Confinement of Event Field within the Sensor Field on Network Lifetime and Energy Consumption for Cluster-Based Wireless Sensor Networks

Clustering is one of the most popular approaches used in wireless sensor networks to conserve energy and increase node as well as network lifetime. In this paper we have analyzed the affect of confinement of event field within the sensor field on network lifetime and network energy consumption for cluster-based wireless sensor networks based upon LEACH protocol which is among the most popular clustering protocols proposed for these types of networks. Simulation results based upon this protocol identify some important factors that induce unbalanced energy consumption among sensor nodes which are located inside the event field to those which are located outside the event field and hence affect the network lifetime. This highlights the need for an adaptive clustering protocol that can increase the network lifetime by further balancing the energy consumption among sensor nodes. Paper concludes with some recommendations for such protocol.