3hBAC (3-hop between adjacent clusterheads): a novel non-overlapping clustering algorithm for mobile ad hoc networks

The clustering protocol of an ad hoc network is always with interest. In this paper, we present a novel non-overlapping clustering algorithm, 3-hop between adjacent clusterheads (3hBAC), which can decrease the number of clusters without loss of connection information. In the cluster maintenance phase, we combine 3hBAC with least cluster change (LCC) algorithm to further decrease the cluster change and to extend average clusterhead time and membership time. The performances of 3hBAC are compared with highest-connectivity clustering (HCC), random competition-based clustering (RCC) in terms of average number of clusters, average clusterhead time and average membership time. 3hBAC outperforms HCC and RCC in both the cluster formation and maintenance phase.