Multi-level Hybrid Clustering Technique to Improve Coverage in Disaster Area Network

In the event of disasters, establishing an emergency wireless network plays a significant role in ensuring effective communication for rescue operations. It is crucial to establish a network that can efficiently connect all user devices in disaster areas, ensuring optimal capacity to handle information flow efficiently. Device-to-Device (D2D) communication has developed to be a promising technique that enables devices to communicate with each other directly, ensuring reliable and resilient communication services when traditional communication infrastructures are damaged. In this paper, we propose a hybrid clustering technique based on K-means and DBSCAN algorithms to extend coverage and enhance network performance in disaster scenarios. The proposed method groups each User Equipment (UE) into a Main Cluster (MC) and Sub Cluster (SC) and selects Cluster Heads (CHs) based on maximum residual energy. These cluster heads then establish connections to the Base Station (BS) located in the Functional Area (FA) through the Relay Node (RN). The results show that the proposed technique improves the coverage of the disaster area network, minimizes the outage probability, and improves energy efficiency.