An Energy Aware Distributed Clustering Algorithm Using Fuzzy Logic for Wireless Sensor Networks with Non-uniform Node Distribution

Clustering routing protocols are more adequate for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) due to the higher energy utilization rate and scalability. However, non-uniform node deployment makes the cluster-based routing protocols less efficient, since the energy consumption of the nodes is more imbalanced. In this paper, an Energy Aware Distributed Clustering using Fuzzy Logic (EADC-FL) routing algorithm is proposed for the network with non-uniform node distribution. EADC-FL selects the most appropriate nodes as the cluster heads to save more energy in data transmission phase. It considers the energy of the sensor nodes as the primary parameter to elect the candidate cluster heads. Afterwards, it takes into consideration the node degree and node centrality of the sensor nodes by using Fuzzy Logic to identify the final cluster heads. EADC-FL constructs the clusters in equal sizes to make the energy consumption of cluster members balanced and uses a cluster-based routing algorithm to balance the energy consumption among the cluster heads. Moreover, the proposed algorithm performs clustering on demand instead of each round in order to reduce the energy dissipation of the network due to the overhead of consecutive clustering phases. The results demonstrate that EADC-FL significantly decreases the energy consumption and extends the network lifetime of network with non-uniform node distribution .