A Reliable Communication Model based on IEEE802.15.4 for WSANs in Smart Grids

Creating cyber-physical systems (CPSs) based on wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSANs) has great potential to improve the performance of Smart Grid. In addition, IEEE802.15.4 has widely been regarded as an appropriate standard for WSANs, due to some striking and unique features. WSANs require provisioning strict quality of service (QoS) due to noisy harsh environments in Smart Grid applications. Although analytical models have been studied in the literature, they have not provided a full-fledged model for Smart Grid. In this paper, we have added a MAC-level buffer, and a novel Markov chain model has been also proposed. By comparison with previous studies, retransmission confines, acknowledgment, packet length variation, saturated traffic, and degenerate distribution of packet generation are accounted for. The algorithm has been experimentally implemented and appraised on a platform with self-designed WSAN. The analytical model predicts well our exhaustive experiments. Further, Monte Carlo simulations validate mathematical results.