Reforming clusters using C-LEACH in Wireless Sensor Networks

Routing Protocols in Wireless Sensor Networks can be classified as flat and hierarchical based on the network topology. In flat routing, all nodes are assigned equal roles and similar functionality whereas in hierarchical routing, they exhibit different roles [2]. Hierarchical Protocols are based on formation of clusters. LEACH (Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy) protocol [1] randomly selects a few nodes as cluster heads based on a probability model. The probabilistic approach leads to the formation of unequally sized clusters which leads to imbalance in energy consumption across the network and thereby reduces the efficiency and network lifetime. We propose an improvement of LEACH algorithm called Equalized Cluster LEACH(C-LEACH) which initializes and maintains uniformly sized clusters located uniformly across the network. Considering the energy constraints in sensor networks, our algorithm involves minimal processing in terms of routing overhead by extending the setup phase of traditional LEACH. C-LEACH also incorporates the concept of “adoption” where orphaned cluster nodes are efficiently incorporated into neighboring clusters.