A Clustering Algorithm based on Virtual Area Partition for Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks

Most existing clustering algorithms can be only applied to homogeneous wireless sensor networks with uniform maximal transmission power. And cluster heads elected by some algorithms can not distribute uniformly under heterogeneous networks environment where the maximal transmission power of each node may be different. So an energy-efficient clustering algorithm which based on virtual area partition (VAP-E) for heterogeneous wireless sensor networks is proposed in this paper. The simulation results show that VAP-E can balance the load between clusters, reduce energy consumption of sensor nodes, prolong the stability period and lifetime of networks, and improve the efficiency of communications obviously in wireless sensor networks compared with current clustering algorithms.