Optimization of clustering probability of LEACH protocol for lifetime maximization of Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks are extremely power constrained due to limited battery backup of individual sensor node. Because energy is a scarce resource, it should be conserved as much as possible. For better lifetime of network various energy saving protocols have been proposed. An energy efficient clustering protocol called Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) is in trend. Although LEACH Protocol ensures sufficient lifetime improvement as compared to old traditional schemes, still there are some areas of improvement remaining untouched like optimum number of cluster-heads should be determined prior to implementation and the residual energy of nodes must be considered while selecting next cluster-head. In the present paper both of these aspects have been considered. Simulation results produced at the end replicate the improvement in network lifetime and thus prove the superiority of proposed schemes.