Efficient topology construction and routing for IEEE 802.15.4m-based smart grid networks

IEEE 802.15.4m TVWS Multi-Channel Tree PAN (TMCTP) standard that uses the vacant TV frequency of a region is the key to provide a flexible, scalable and cost-effective AMI smart grid networks. However, the performance of the IEEE 802.15.4m based AMI network can suffer from network interruption, varying transmission reliability and energy consumption problems due to the excessive number of channels and periodic channel scanning. To resolve these issues, we presented an enhanced IEEE 802.15.4m TMCTP called TVWS Orphan channel scanning with Multi-Channel Tree PAN Routing (TOMTPR). The proposed TOMTPR framework includes pilot-channel based Multi-Channel beaconing and interleaving-based TVWS orphan channel scanning. Furthermore, a capacity-aware routing tree is constructed during the neighbor discovery procedure. The proposed protocol suite is designed to provide compatibility with the IEEE 802.15.4 family standards with lower architecture complexity. The simulation results in presence of realistic AMI traffic and AMI network model show that TOMTPR can not only satisfy delay requirements of the AMI traffic, but also outperforms IEEE 802.15.4m TMCTP with IEEE 802.15.5 layer 2 mesh routing in terms of topology construction delay, end-to-end transmission reliability, and energy efficiency.