A novel dynamic multi-hop clustering protocol based on renewable energy for energy harvesting wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks consist of a large number of nodes with limited energy. These nodes are scattered in a geographical region and are responsible for monitoring their surroundings. One of the important challenges of wireless sensor networks is energy consumption the major part of which is related to transmission. Since they can receive the energy of renewable resources, e.g. the sun, wind, etc., harvesting sensor nodes have become the center of attention. Considering energy harvesting in this type of networks, maximizing efficiency under the limitations of renewable energy is considered a very important issue. Routing is one of the main approaches to improve efficiency. In this paper, a new clustering method is proposed for harvesting wireless sensor networks. in the proposed method, clustering is performed distributive, dynamically, and based on the energy status and harvesting rate of each node in comparison to its neighbors. Moreover, data is transmitted in multi steps and by preventing large distance transmissions. The proposed method prevents high energy consumption by a single node and balances the networks energy. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method balances energy consumption and thus, increases network sustainability and improves efficiency.