Optimization of LEACH Protocol for WSNs in Terms of Energy Efficient and Network Lifetime

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a group of small, intelligent sensors with limited resources. WSN has limited energy restrictions, so, the network lifetime is the major challenge that directly affect the efficiency of the network. This work presents an energy-saving clustering hierarchical algorithm for WSNs; it is an improvement of Low-Energy adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) algorithm. The aim of this algorithm is to minimize power consumption by the appropriate election of new cluster heads in every data transfer round and avoid network collisions. This goal achieved by using an efficient function to select the best cluster heads nodes in each round, which takes into account the current energy in the sensors. The proposed algorithm improves the cluster formation process by relying on the shorter distance to the base station. The Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) mechanism also utilized to schedule the transmission of data packets to cluster heads nodes and to avoid data packet collisions at the base station. Experiments conducted in MATLAB R (2020a) software showed that the suggested algorithm extended the network lifetime by 14.5%, and improved the network throughput by 16.8% compared to the LEACH algorithm. That means, the proposed energy-saving clustering hierarchy algorithm has improved the performance of the LEACH algorithm in term of enhancing network lifetime and increasing network throughput.