Enhancing energy balance in wireless sensor networks through optimized minimum spanning tree

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are important for applications like environmental monitoring and industrial automation. However, the limited energy resources of sensor nodes pose a significant challenge to the network’s longevity. Energy imbalances among nodes often result in premature failures and reduced overall network lifespan. Current solutions have not adequately addressed this issue due to network dynamics, varying energy consumption rates, and uneven node distribution. To tackle this, we propose a novel method using Prim’s algorithm to construct minimum spanning trees (MSTs) that enhance energy balance in WSNs. Prim’s algorithm effectively identifies optimal connections among network nodes to minimize energy consumption. Our methodology includes several key steps: network initialization, energy consumption modeling, MST construction using Prim’s algorithm, and optimizing the movement of mobile sink nodes. Extensive experiments with diverse datasets show that our approach significantly improves energy equilibrium, demonstrating high sensitivity and moderate complexity. This research underscores the potential of Prim’s algorithm to extend the lifespan of WSNs and enhance energy efficiency, contributing to sustainable and effective network deployments.

Keywords

• WSN
• Energy balance
• Prim’s algorithm
• MST
• Energy consumption
• Network lifetime