Energy-Efficient and Load-Balanced Clustering Routing Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks Using a Chaotic Genetic Algorithm

Abstract

In wireless sensor networks, organizing nodes into clusters, finding routing paths and maintaining the clusters are three critical factors that significantly impact the network lifetime. In this paper, using a chaotic genetic algorithm, a clustering routing protocol combined with these three features called CRCGA is proposed to improve the network energy efficiency and load balancing. In CRCGA, the chaotic genetic algorithm is used to select the best cluster heads (CHs) and to find the optimal routing paths by coding them into a single chromosome simultaneously. Chaotic genetic operators based on a novel fitness function considering minimum energy consumption and load balancing along with new determination conditions make the algorithm converge quickly. Besides, an adaptive round time considering energy and load balancing is presented to maintain the clusters so as to further reduce energy consumption. Simulation results indicate that CRCGA is better than LEACH, GECR, OMPFM and GADA-LEACH in terms of convergence speed, energy efficiency, load balancing, network throughput and lifetime.

Keywords

• WSNs
• multi-hop routing
• chaotic genetic algorithm
• clustering
• energy and load balancing